One Small Change
by acw28
Summary: Everyone knows how the story goes, while being chased by wolves and Magneto, Mystique losses her grip on her son causing him to fall to the river below. But what if Mystique fell with her son, how would this one small change shape the events to come? Rating subject to change.
1. One Small Change

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with a brand new story!**

 **I guess I owe those expecting an update for one of my crossovers an explanation. Before I say anything else, let me put some fears to rest, I'm not discontinuing any of my stories. I know what I'm going to have happen in** _ **A New Realm**_ **, but I've also got that story** **at a nice place for a small break, nothing major just until I have a bit more free time. As for** _ **Son of the Sun**_ **, well I've run into a bit of writer's block. I know the general direction of the story, but not the fine details, add in the fact I've got a multitude of research papers (and a project) due this semester and I've got virtually zero time to write.**

 **Luckily I do have some free time, but not much. As I don't have to time to properly research the background information for** _ **Son of the Sun**_ **, and since this idea has been in my head for a while, I decided to do a little light writing on something I didn't need to research so much.**

 **Before we get started, here's just a little background about this story. So I was feeling nostalgic one day and ended up finding the first episode of the series on YouTube and ended up binge watching the first season. Soon after, I watched** _ **Days of Future Past**_ **on HBO and the two melded together a bit in my head until this came out. This story is an AU, and I've changed a few details from the original series to help streamline the plot.**

 **With all that said, welcome to my new** _ **X-Men: Evolution**_ **story** _ **One Small Change**_ **, I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Disclaimer: I in no way own** _ **X-Men: Evolution**_

* * *

Paris, France

Five men followed their guide through the hallways of the five star hotel. Each man could not be more different from the others; one was Chinese, another was bald with a stern look in his eyes, another had a full head of blonde hair, the next man's hair had change to grey and his face had a number of wrinkles, the last seemed to be the youngest of the group, not a wrinkle found on his face, not one bit of grey in his mane of brown hair. The one thing all the men shared was the multitude of medals from their respective countries that were proudly displayed on their uniforms.

"Right this way gentlemen," the hotel worker said as he lead the group around another corner, "our guest thanks you for meeting with him so suddenly. He guarantees you will enjoy his presentation."

None of the men seemed to share the guide's enthusiasm, it didn't help none of the men knew what the meeting was about. Finally they group arrived at the board room and one by one entered. The youngest of the group moved to follow, only to have his arm grabbed. Turning his head, the man saw a giant of a man in a trench coat, his face hidden by the up turned collar and fedora, had somehow snuck up on him. Before he could process what was happening, the man found himself being dragged away by the new comer.

" _What are you doing? Unhand me this instant!"_ The man demanded in French as they were pulled into a staff elevator.

Instead of being intimidated, the giant replied, " _How long are you doing to continue the act Raven?_ "

A look of surprise passed the man's face for an instant before he regained control of his features. Switching to English, the man replied, in a different, feminine voice, "That's not my name, why are you here Hank?"

Although his face was hidden, the giant said, "No matter what you say, it's always Raven to me. As for why I'm here, I think that is rather obvious."

The man once more struggled in Hank's grip and said, "You need to let me go. You don't know what Trask has, what he will do to our kind."

The person was cut off in there rant when Hank said, "I know about the Sentinels," enjoying the look of surprise on his companions face, he continued, "he brought the project up during an off the books meeting. He didn't take being shut down well." Hank took a breath, seeing a look of understanding cross his friend's face. "I looked into his contacts and found out about the meeting. Trask is done Raven, the United States doesn't appreciate men who try to sell state secrets. Now are you going to change so I can get you out of here or do want to stick around when the building gets swarmed?"

The man stood for half a moment before he seemed to come to a conclusion. Starting from his head and moving downward, the man's hair, skin, even his clothes seemed to shudder as he changed. In only a handful of seconds, a blonde woman wearing a form fitting black dress and jacket replaced the young brown haired man in a military uniform. The woman could feel Hank's smirk, in response the woman glared and asked, "Happy I'm beautiful again?"

While his face was still hidden, the woman couldn't hear any humor in Hank's voice as he answered, "Red or Blonde, you were always beautiful to me Raven."

The woman only continued to glare as she said, "I told you, that's not my name. It's Mystique now."

Hank only shook his head as the doors opened. When he saw Mystique start to walk away, he quickly grabbed her wrist, "Whatever you want to call yourself, whether you choose to follow Charles or Erik, until you tell me otherwise, I'm still your friend. My door is open if you need help."

Mystique was about to tell the man she didn't need his help, only to see a team of heavily armed men dragging a number of people out of the hotel, including the group she had snuck in with. Turning back to face Hank, she asked, "Charles isn't here?" When Hank shook his head no, Mystique asked, "How'd that happen?"

Instead of answering Hank started walking away as he said, "The place I'm staying at isn't that far from here. If you want answers come visit, I'm still in town for a few months."

Mystique watched as her one-time friend walked away. Looking around at the oddly quiet street, Mystique shrugged her shoulders as she slowly started following the man. She had expected to be in the meeting for the next while, her plane out of the country wouldn't leave for hours, she needed to waste some time.

* * *

After walking a few blocks and up three flites of stairs, Mystique arrived at Hank's apartment seconds behind the man. After allowing his guest to enter first, Hank closed and locked the door before removing his hat, trench coat, and shoes. The woman was used to seeing Hank's odd blue hair and ape-like elongated feet but upon seeing her one-time friend's face again, Mystique couldn't help but say, "Well that certainly is new."

What the woman was referring to was the tuffs of blue hair, much thicker than normal, jutting out of a few places on Hank's face. Underneath the hair, Mystique could barely see how Hank's skin was discolored into a matching shade of blue.

Already knowing what the woman was referring to, Hank adjusted his glasses while he said, "A result of a secondary mutation, nothing that you need to be concerned with. My I take your coat?"

Mystique was slightly confused when she saw Hank hold out his hand. Realizing what he meant, the woman shook her head no before her body once more shuttered. In place of the blonde now stood a red head, blue skinned, yellow eyed woman, lacking any clothing. (A/N Yes I went with yellow eyes for this fic, just looks better than the white eyes.) Upon seeing Mystique in all her glory, Hank adverted his eyes as he said, "Still a nudist, huh?"

Mystique crossed her arms as she said, "I have no reason not to be. I'm a mutant, just as you. The only difference is that I'm proud of it and won't hide who I am."

Hank didn't argue with the woman he still considered a friend. Instead he walked further into his apartment as he said, "If you don't want to wear clothes while you're here I won't stop you, although I don't think mutant pride was the only reason behind Erik's suggestion of your life style."

As Mystique search through the kitchen, might as well get a free meal while she was here, she asked, "Really? Then what do you think his primary reason was?"

"I think you can figure that out." Hank replied as he sat at a desk covered with a multitude of papers and books, an out of date computer rested on the back corner while an old rotary phone was place precariously on the other side, "He may be a mutant, but Erik is still a man."

Mystique knew the meaning of the words instantly. Although she didn't have any issues with her body and had never thought too much on the subject before, the blue skinned woman quickly became self-conscious of the fact Erik's gaze, as well as those of many other men who saw her true appearance, would linger on her longer than normal. Although she was still proud of being a mutant and would love for people to acknowledge the fact her kind does exists, she wasn't so keen about that sort of extra attention. Deciding it was time for a change, Mystique asked, "You have anything I could borrow?"

Hank didn't look up from his work as he wrote something down, "Check the bedroom, third door down the hall."

* * *

Opening Hank's closet didn't present a lot of options for Mystique. Almost all of the shirts were the same, long sleeve button ups of various colors. Looking towards the back, the woman was able to see a simple white t-shirt. Her choice made, the blue skinned red head quickly put on the shirt. Although it would probably barely cover Hank, the shirt came almost to the woman's knees.

Walking back out into the living room, Mystique was able to hear tail end of a conversation Hank was having on the phone.

"Yes sir, I understand." After saying those few words, a muffled yelling could be heard on the other end before the line went silent. Hank sighed before put the phone away.

"What was that about?"

Turning around, Mystique's host said, "Nothing just lost my job again." Seeing the question in his friend's eyes, the man elaborated saying, "Trask and five men where suppose to be captured for questioning, as there were only four I ended up getting canned." Knowing it was her fault, Mystique was about to apologize until Hanks said, "Don't worry about it, it was something that was bound to happen eventually."

Raising an eyebrow, Mystique asked, "What do you mean?"

"This isn't the first time I've been fired Raven. I've had a few well-paying jobs that had high levels of security clearance. Eventually something mutant related comes up and I do something to ensure no one gets hurt. I've been re-located and given warnings a number of times, this was bound to happen eventually."

"So you've been working for the government, doesn't sound like something Charles would approve of."

Hank's shoulder slumped as he said, "Charles doesn't know, and he doesn't need me anymore."

"Why would you say that? You two were practically inseparable during High School, the only time you were apart was when you had football practice."

"A lot changed after Charles and Erik had their fight and you left." Hank began. "I stuck around for a few years to take care of Charles and the house instead of going to college. We eventually found a few people who needed his help. One guy, some Canadian with memory issues, stayed around longer than the rest, really started to help out with everything. I saw that my friend would be fine without me, so I left. It didn't help I started not to agree with him."

Mystique couldn't hide the shock on her face, "You think Charles is wrong? I never thought you'd follow Erik's vision."

Hank shook his head as he replied, "Neither is right, but Charles is the closest to the answer. Erik preaches how we and the rest of mutant kind are superior and should rule over others, but it's ideals like that validate Trask claims that we are a danger to everyone. Charles, however, teaches that we should be able to coexist with everyone, without problems."

"That's what you believed for a long time as well, what do you think now?"

Taking off his glasses to rub his temples, Hank began by saying, "As I said before, Charles is closer to the truth. I would love to one day see a world where a mutant, no matter what they looked like, could walk down the street in broad daylight without fear, but the world isn't ready for us. We need to hide and gain the public's trust before we announce ourselves to the world."

While it was vastly different than what she believed, Mystique actually found herself enjoying this conversation, and remembered a time when they were younger and use to test each other's intellect, "And what if the world discovers our kind before people are ready, what will you do then?"

"If you're asking if I'd hide, I wouldn't." Mystique was surprised at Hank's answer, having always known him to try to stay out of conflict. "Truthfully, I don't fully know. I suppose I'd try to run for office, maybe the Senate, try to help others understand there is nothing wrong with being a mutant."

"What about now? What project are you working on this time?" For as long as she'd known him, Hank had always been tinkering with something, be it making a car go faster or trying to cross breed various flowers. The man had a number of interests to devote his intelligence to.

"A suppressant for my secondary mutation." Mystique grew wide eyed and was going to yell at her friend for trying to hide himself, but he cut her off by saying, "You remember that I wanted to teach don't you? Once the rest of this," Hank gestured to his face, indicating the blue hair, "comes in no parent will want their child in the same school as me." He then looked out the window, noting the setting sun and told his guest, "It's getting late, you should probably head back to where you're staying."

Mystique looked to the floor as she considered her options. She hadn't meant to stay for so long, she didn't have a place to stay either. Swallowing her pride, she said, "I really didn't have anything planned after Trask, can I crash her tonight?"

Hank didn't even hesitate as he said, "Sure, you take the bed and I'll take the pull out." As he got up to make his bed, Hank once more looked at his friend before releasing a soft chuckle. "That shirt looks ridiculous on you."

Mystique surprised herself as she laughed along. "I'll have to agree, it's more of a dress really." After she finished talking, the blue skinned woman was surprised as the shirt changed. The sleeves receded into themselves until they vanished, the bottom stretched until it almost touched the floor, the sides split after her hips, allowing her legs mobility. While Mystique was surprised at the change, Hank only scratched his chin and said to himself, "So that's where that went."

"One of your pet projects I guess?"

Hank nodded his head before he walked to the pull out couch. "Yeah, I got tired of having to get my shirts tailored so I tried to make one that would adapt to what the wearer wanted. I took some material and infused some of your DNA I got from an old hairbrush, but I could never get it to work." After pulling the mattress out Hank looked to his friend and said, "Guess it was automatically keyed to your commands." Walking to the linen closet, the man grabbed some sheets before telling his friend, "Feel free to keep it, in a way it was always yours. Night Raven."

As she went to the bedroom, the woman whispered so low only she heard herself, "Good night, Beast."

* * *

It was the middle of the night, she had a comfortable bed, plenty of covers, she even was wearing the morphing clothing in its original shape, and still Mystique was cold. She blamed Hank for it, the only time he would say he was cold was if he was standing in the middle of a blizzard. He probably also rented this apartment without a heater so he could save some money. Coming to a conclusion on how to stay warm and actually get some sleep, she got out of bed and walked to the living room.

Hank was sprawled out on the pull out, oblivious to the, seemingly, near artic temperatures of the apartment. As quietly as she could, Mystique slipped under the covers next to the man, yet he still woke up. "Raven?" Hank groggily asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm cold and it's your fault, next time you rent a place get a heater." Mystique chastised her friend. "Now get back to sleep, it's only for the night. I'll be gone by tomorrow." Hank lazily nodded his head and complied with his friend's demands.

* * *

She didn't leave the next day, nor the one after that. She stayed for the entire month, and the one after, and the one after that. In that time she reconnected with Hank, during which more tuffs of hair appeared on his face. She soon learned that the second mutation also affected his other senses, his hearing and smell where better than ever and he hardly used his glasses. They jointly come to the conclusion that as more hair, which they started calling fur, appeared that his senses would continue to sharpen. Of course she didn't miss the chance to tease Hank about how his old football nickname became even more appropriate.

They were able to live comfortably in the apartment. Hank's stipend from his old job soon ran out, but the landlady let them stay after Hank fixed the water heater. Soon he became the building's unofficial handyman. Hank had also been sent out to help the landlady's friends with their own maintenance problems. The sight of the trench coat giant use to scare people, but it soon became a welcome sight to many. Mystique was determine not to be deadweight and often went out to the local stores to help with the odd jobs.

When neither wasn't out in town, they often would lounge around the apartment. Often they would read borrowed books, watch one of the endlessly played old, black and white romantic movies on TV, or simply talk. She couldn't exactly say it, but at some point in those months she had stopped being Mystique and was once more Raven, and sometime after that the friendship between her and Hank had become more. Their first time together had been clumsy due to both being inexperienced, yet they soon learned what set each other off, which resulted in their neighbors often banging on the walls.

As Raven walked away from the corner shop with the ingredients for the night's dinner, she reflected on how she was enjoying her life. She was happy being with Hank, she couldn't imagine not returning to the apartment, to his smile. She still believed mutants shouldn't have to hide, but she was starting to agree with Hank that maybe Erik had been wrong. She was interrupted from her thoughts when a familiar voice said, "So this is where you have been."

Turing around, Raven saw a man wearing a brown three-piece suit. He looked like any other traveling business man, but the woman instantly recognized him by his distinctive white hair. "What do you want Erik?"

"Why to take you home of course. I grew concerned after you didn't come back when Trask was arrested. Now that was a surprise, I expected him dead not incarcerated."

"It's been three months and now you decide to look for me? Some boss you are."

While Erik had a smile before, it was now gone. Giving the woman a slight glare, Erik said, "You've changed haven't you?" He didn't give Raven a chance to respond, instead he continued talking, "I guess you're staying with one of our old friends. I'd know if it was Charles, so who is it?"

A growl come from the back of Raven's throat as she said, "None of your business Erik, not anymore."

"I didn't come here to fight Mystique, I came to bring you home." Slowly the man reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a train ticket. Holding it out, he said, "This is a one way ticket to a place I've established myself in." He then placed it on the ground. "The choice is yours Mystique, but know this, you're not like the rest of them, you're not a coward who will hide from the world." With his piece said, Erik turned and left.

Raven watched the man leave, then walked forward and picked up the ticket. She gripped the paper in both hands, ready to rip it in half, but a thought stopped her. Was she a coward, was it so wrong to just want a peaceful life? The walk up the stairs never seemed so long as it did now. Once the door was unlocked, Raven was greeted to the familiar sight of the rooms she had come to consider her home. How was it just minutes before she could think of nothing but staying here, yet now she had lingering doubts? Deciding to distract herself, Raven put her groceries down and began to cook.

While it took away, dinner was eventually made, yet the blue skinned woman still sent glances at the train ticket. Trying to distract herself once more, Raven looked over Hank's work. They had made progress with the serum, but something was still missing. Once more doubts creep into her mind. Yes Hank was trying to hide, but with the way his mutation was progressing did he really have a choice? Would she do the same if she was forced to stay blue?

As these thoughts appeared, Raven suddenly saw the missing component to the serum. As she penciled in her suggestion, she also came a conclusion to her own problems. Finding some loose paper, she quickly wrote a message. As she proof read her note, she glanced around the apartment, remembering all the moments she would treasure.

Folding the paper, Raven closed her eyes and gave the paper a light kiss, wishing she was brave enough to hand it to Hank herself. Opening her eyes, Mystique stood, changed her appearance, grabbed the ticket, and walked out of the apartment.

* * *

Hank came to the apartment an hour later, having spent the day repairing a number of ancient machines several blocks away. He was surprised to find the door locked and the apartment silent, Raven always left the door unlocked and was constantly humming some tune she'd heard during the day. He briefly noted his papers were moved. He looked over the new suggestion which proved to be the missing component he needed. He also saw the folded piece of paper with his name written in the middle. While he dreaded what it said, he still knew he needed to read it.

" _Hank,_ " the letter began, " _Before I write anything else, I want you to know that I truly enjoyed every second I spent with you. I will always treasure that time and would never trade it away. But we're just too different. You say you're not ashamed of being a mutant, but you still want to hide. The formula you've spent the better part of the past year creating? It's the proof that we aren't right for each other. I don't know if Erik or Charles is right, but I know I can't hide. I made dinner before I left, but this is goodbye Beast, possibly for the last time. Love, Mystique._ "

Hank didn't know which hurt worse, that she left or that he'd been deluding himself with the possibility that she'd stay. After slowly eating the cold dinner, Hank reviewed the formula one last time. Everything seemed sound, he'd get the ingredients tomorrow and if it work he would be flying home the day after.

* * *

Two Months Later

Mystique had grown use to her routine. Erik, or as he now called himself Magneto, was excited to see her when she arrived, although she could see the disappointment in his eyes when she revealed she wasn't a nudist anymore. It was a little odd moving into a castle that Magneto had supposedly bought, but the woman didn't question it, she was just glad that a village not far away had all the modern luxuries.

Perhaps she would have enjoyed the castle better if it wasn't for the fact she was constantly sick. Just a few weeks after she arrived and she already had some stomach bug that wouldn't go away. As she spent another morning kneeling in front of the toilet, she ideally rubbed her stomach while she considered what remedy she hadn't tried yet. Her hand stopped abruptly as she felt her stomach's slight rise. Looking down confirmed she did, in fact, possess a small bulge. But how was this possible? She was always a healthy person and her mutation helped to keep her in shape. Suddenly the sickness made sense, but she couldn't be, could she? Needing answers, Mystique quickly got dressed for the day and left the castle.

An hour later she was tapping her foot in the bathroom of a corner store in the village. She walked for half an hour to find one item but didn't dare use it back at the castle. She ended up buying a pack of three and using all of them, better safe than sorry. After waiting five minutes, Mystique looked at the results. As with the other two, a blue plus sign was present on the pregnancy test.

She was pregnant. A number of emotions overwhelmed her. She was shocked by the whole ordeal, but worried how Hank should be involved. It was obviously his child, and even if she wasn't with him shouldn't he have some input about how it should be raised? Ultimately she decided she'd cross that bridge when the time came, right now she needed to keep this from Magneto. The man was always insistent on mutant superiority, there was no telling what he'd do with the child of two mutants in his hands.

* * *

The next eight months passed quickly for Mystique. She was glad he had learned how to shift her internal organs when she was younger, by moving and shrinking her stomach and intestines she was able to hide her growing stomach from Magneto whenever he came to ask her opinion on something. While she couldn't hold the shift for long it, and even though it was tiring to do, she would do anything to keep her pregnancy a secret. She was also glad she had a passing interest in Nursing before she joined with Erik the first time, it made understanding what was happening to her body a lot easier.

Finally the day came, it was just pure luck that Magneto was out of the castle. When she felt her water break in the morning, Mystique prepared herself for the ordeal to come. She couldn't say how long the delivery lasted, only that she released the loudest screams of her life and alternated wishing Hank was with her and cursing him for putting her through this. At last, after one final push, her child was born. Although tired from the ordeal, Mystique still found the strength to cut her kid's umbilical cord and wash the blood off.

This was the first time she got a look at her offspring. Living in the castle and keeping everything to herself meant she couldn't get an ultrasound to check on her child's health, of course it didn't matter considering the village didn't have such a machine. To her surprise, she found her child was a boy. She could tell that he'd inherited his father's blue hair and slightly elongated feet, the kid almost look like a clone of Hank.

Smiling, Mystique said, "You've certainly got a lot of your father in you, don't you?" In response, her son barely opened his eyes, giving the woman the chance to glimpse a flash of yellow before they closed. "Looks like you did get some of me though."

After she was finish washing her son, Mystique dried and wrapped him in a blanket to keep him warm and, not having a crib, found a clean spot on the bed to lay him down. While her plan was to leave the castle immediately after birth, she was too exhausted to even think of that. Making sure not to crush her son, the blue skinned woman laid down as well to rest.

* * *

Magneto marched through the castle with a purpose. When he first found Mystique in Paris, he was surprised that one of his biggest supporters had changed. Although he feared she was too far gone, he was able to bring the woman back to his fold. However he still feared she had changed too much. He had tried to get her to involved in his plans, to have her tell him what she thought would and wouldn't work. The master of magnetism grew frustrated as she seemed to only talk to him the bare minimum before slipping off to her room. If the man didn't have the woman a few villages over to confide in he'd would have gone mad, but enough was enough! Determined to get answers, Magneto arrived at Mystique's room to find the door slightly ajar. Slowly opening the door, the man had the surprise of a lifetime.

For the first time in a while, Magneto saw Mystique nude, but what held his attention was child by her side. Quickly realizing what had been kept from him, the white haired man only smirked. Even when she tried not to, the woman had helped Magneto more than she realized. He had a unique specimen, a child of a mutant, to experiment on. Slowly walking into the room, the man was able to snatch the child away from its mother.

The question of what to do popped into Magneto's mind as he walked to his lab. This was a rare opportunity, one that couldn't be wasted. He did have the prototype that needed testing, he had a lack of "volunteers" for that experiment. As he opened the door to his lab, Magneto smirked. Mystique may hate him for this, but she would eventually forgive and forget. After all, for the advancement of mutant kind, sacrifices needed to be made.

* * *

Mystique awoke and immediately knew something was wrong. Turning her head, she saw that her son was missing. Fearing the worse, she quickly grabbed a traveler's cloak and ran to the one room Magneto told her never to enter. Throwing the door open, she saw flashes of green light emitting from a machine in the center of the room, and heard her son crying. Quickly findings the power source, Mystique, not concerned for her own safety, pulled a number of wires out of the wall to stop the machine. Thankfully she wasn't hurt and the machine stopped.

Moving to the center of the room, Mystique could now see a familiar bundle in the center of the machine. Grabbing her son, the woman was shocked at what she saw. Where before her son could pass as a regular human, now that was impossible with the fine, blue fur that covered his body. His pointer and middle fingers, as well as his ring fingers and pinkies, had fused together leaving her son with a thumb and two large digits on each hand. If that wasn't surprising enough, a pointed tail also peaked out of the blanket by her son's head.

Sensing someone behind her, and already knowing who it was, the woman asked, "What have you done to my son?"

There was no emotion in Magneto's voice as he said, "I've evolved him. He's reached the pinnacle of his mutation. Once the machine and the process is refined, he will be but the first of many."

"No," the mother said, "you've ruined his life. You are nothing but a monster!" With that, the mother clutched her son to her chest and ran past Magneto, and out of the castle.

* * *

She didn't know how far she ran, nor how far, she only knew that she couldn't stop. The blizzard didn't faze her, she would endure what she must to keep her son safe. When she heard the wolves howl, she ran faster, hoping she could get far enough away. Eventually she came to an old footbridge and started across.

This proved to be a mistake, she could see the outline of the wolves waiting for her on the other side. Turning around revealed a few brave members of the pack that had followed her on to the rickety bridge, further back she could see the outline of Magneto. Suddenly one of the wolves jumped towards her.

In one universe, the woman would have stepped back and lost her grip on the child, sending the boy into the river below. She would had grieved, but she would have no place to go and return with Magneto back to his castle and continue to follow his ideals.

But this was not that universe. Instead the mother turned her back to the wolf, hoping to protect her son from the beast. The momentum transferred sent the woman and her son over the railing, falling together. While she disappeared into the fog, the mother screamed and tried to angle her body so that her son had the best chance of survival. She suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound, something like a "bamf", before her back was painfully slammed into an ice float. She also noted the scent of brimstone in the air. Having no idea what happened, the mother looked to her son and noticed he was asleep. Only then did she guess he had used his mutation to teleport the pair further down the chasm, surviving the fall.

Drained from everything that happened within the past few hours, the mother held her son close as she fell into unconsciousness. As the ice float continued to drift down the river, neither mother or son would know how this one small change would affect the events to come.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap on chapter one. I intended the first chapter to go on for a bit, but this seemed to be a good place to stop for now. 11 pages is pretty respectable for a first chapter, and is about my average when first starting a story. So like it, have a suggestion as to what should happen next? Let me know in the reviews.**

 **So with the first chapter done, a few questions are raised, including…**

 **What will Hank do now?**

 **Will Magneto's plans succeed?**

 **How will the mother and her son survive?**

 **Those questions, and others, will be answered in the coming chapter of** _ **One Small Change**_ **.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and will stick around for the rest of the story. With that said, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."**


	2. How the Dominoes Fall

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with an update for** _ **One Small Change**_ **!**

 **It's a little weird for me to already be writing an update, but I've got some inspiration that I don't want to waste. With that said, I hope everyone enjoyed my last chapter and will enjoy this one.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men: Evolution, if I did I would be fighting tooth and nail to have it syndicated.**

* * *

Before she opened her eyes, the woman realized she was no longer on the ice float and was in someone's bed. Slowly opening her eyes, she found that she was in a cozy room in a wooden house. Once she was fully awake, the woman was shocked to find that she was not alone. Sitting next to the bed was a middle-aged woman calmly knitting. Noticing that her guest was awake, the woman began speaking in German, " _Hello dear, nice to see you're up._ "

The blue skinned was shocked that this woman showed no fear despite how she looked. Finding her voice, the mutant woman said, " _You are not afraid of me? You don't hate me?_ "

The woman only shrugged her shoulders and said, " _You were born how you were meant to be, who are we to judge?_ "

Despite everything that had happened to her, the blue skinned woman smiled. Sure there were people that would have killed her, but this woman also proved the opposite, there were people willing to accept mutants no matter what they looked like. Perhaps there was a future for her son.

Remembering the boy, the shape shifter began to sit up to look for him, relief filled her as she saw the crib in the corner of the room. Knowing that she and her son were safe, the mutant asked the older woman, " _How did we get here?_ "

The woman stopped knitting as she began saying, " _My husband and I were walking along the river when we saw something brown floating along with the current. We thought it was just some discarded trash until we heard your son's cries. After that we fished you two out and brought you to our house._ " The woman then looked the mutant in the eye as she asked, " _If you do not mind, may I ask who you are?_ "

The mutant opened her mouth to answer, only for no sounds to come out. She quickly reflected on all that had happened the past nine months, how she had changed with Hank, how she'd changed once more with Magneto, and the final betrayal. Finally finding her voice, the woman said, " _I don't know anymore._ "

The woman nodded her head before pointing to the mutant's son. " _And his name?_ "

The blue skinned woman was about to say she hadn't given him one before remembering a conversation she once had with Hank. " _Kurt, his name is Kurt._ "

The older woman smiled at the answer before standing up. " _Well my name is Hilda Wagner. My husband, Siegfried, is hanging your cloak and shirt out to dry,_ " the guest was confused about the shirt before figuring out she had unintentionally wrapped Kurt in the gift Hank gave her so long ago, " _when you find yourself, let me know. You are free to stay here as long as needed._ "

With that, Hilda left the room. Soon after the newly named Kurt woke up and began to cry. Having an idea what her son needed, the red head woman moved quickly to the crib, lifted her son up, and allowed the boy to nurse. As she stood there, she began to reflect on the twists and turns of her life and who she really was.

* * *

In the course of a month, the woman found out who she was. Once more she was Raven, this time permanently. While she no longer believed mutants were inherently superior to regular humans, Hilda's and Siegfried's kindness opened her eyes to that, yet she didn't believe the rest of humanity would accept her kind. She had to laugh at herself when she realized that through everything she had grown to agree with Hank.

She also found out a bit about her hosts. It was curious to her that Hilda didn't say anything about Raven being an unwed mother. She later found out that when Hilda and Siegfried first fell in love their families disapproved of it. Years of secret meetings later, the couple eventually decided to elope. They didn't fit the standard marriage, but it was a happy one, even if they never had children. To that end she often found one of her hosts spoiling Kurt, treating him like their grandson. As time went on and Kurt learned to talk he started calling the Wagner's his grandparents, with no one bothering to correct him.

While she enjoyed her time with the Wagners, once more Raven was determine not to be dead weight. While she took care of her son, she also helped clean the house and cook with Hilda and would occasionally help Siegfried repair some old farming equipment. As Kurt grew older, Raven began looking for work outside the small house.

That was why seven years after she escaped from Magneto's castle Raven was currently working as a secretary at an asylum. It was a small building, nowhere near the major roads, the perfect place for a politician or a celebrity to stay during a mental breakdown. She was careful to change her looks to someone different than she had been before so she wasn't recognized, and to insure that she didn't go by Raven. If the asylum administration had looked over her credentials they'd never would have hired her, but you couldn't be picky when hiring someone who knew to keep their mouth shut.

Of course, old habits die hard, resulting in Raven constantly looking over her shoulder. For that reason, she was thankful that Hank taught her so much about computers as it helped her keep an ear to the ground, especially when she knew what to look for. When she followed Magneto, he always went on about an old World War II project that resulted in the creation of Captain America. Knowing Magneto would be close to anything like that, the woman ensured that she and Kurt were far away whenever anything like that popped up.

Currently she was suppose to be filing paperwork, however she had finished that hours ago. Now she was looking over some newly uploaded files from some group trying to restart something called the "Weapon X Program". Vaguely recalling how Hank mentioned how his replacement might have been involved in the programs first incarnation, Raven began to contemplate if she should call Charles about this when a voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Excuse me," looking up, Raven was shocked to see Magneto calmly standing in the reception area. Dread filled her, had her efforts been in vain, had her and her son been found out? While these thoughts ran through her head, Raven quickly took note of the two children standing next to the man. One was a boy who inherited his father's short white hair, the other was a girl with long black hair. While Raven was relieved her disguise had held up, a single thought formed in her head, 'Oh you hypocritical son of a…'

Instead of voicing these thoughts, the woman gave Magneto a smile as she asked, "Hello sir, how can I help you?"

Magneto gave a quick response of, "Dropping off," before shoving a completed form, along with several stacks of cash, onto Raven's desk. The receptionist nodded, setting the form aside to be filed later and placing the cash in a lock box. Once finished with the tasks, she then pushed a button to alert one of the attending doctors.

Not even a minute later the head of the asylum walked into the lobby, flanked by several of the muscular orderlies. "Hello Mr. Maximoff, I trust the journey here was no problem?"

Raven carefully observed her fellow mutant as he talked to the man, "Well enough, I trust everything is in order."

The doctor quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, everything is how you stipulated. Once you leave the patient you can leave."

In response, Magneto pushed the girl forward toward the doctor. The girl gave a look of confusion as she asked, "Daddy?"

Magneto didn't respond, instead he began walking to the exit. The boy quickly looked between his father and sister, a look of confusion on his face, before he started following his father outside. The girl didn't react well to that, crying, "Daddy!" while she tried to follow her family outside, only to have multiple orderlies hold her in place. After she saw the doors close behind Magneto and her son, she yelled, "No daddy! Please! Don't leave me here!"

Raven's eyes widened when she saw a blue glow surround the girl's hands. Years of training payed off as the woman dodged a vase thrown by the blast of energy. After the dust settled, the woman took a moment to survey the damage. The lobby was in disarray, chairs over turn and orderlies embedded into walls, the doctor had managed to escape the blast by diving to the floor, the girl was knocked out from causing the blast. After the orderlies pulled themselves together, the doctor ordered them, "Take her to her room, keep her sedated as long as needed."

Once the lobby was clear, Raven began walking towards the break room, calling over her shoulder, "I'm going on break, there's a call I need to make."

* * *

It was late at night when Charles Xavier's phone began to ring. It had been a long day, settling two nine year olds into his mansion. After years of private lessons to help control her powers, Jean Grey's parents agreed that it would be best for the girl to have full time attention. Meanwhile Scott Summers was finally out of the hospital, he was just glad that him and Ororo were called in before someone from the military. The boy was scared, he needed kindness not discipline. While he was glad Ororo and Logan where around to help out, he couldn't think how much easier things could be if Hank was still around, the man just had a way of explaining things and getting people to trust him.

Shaking off those thoughts, the professor turned on a lamp before answering the phone, "Hello, Xavier's School of the Gifted and Talented, how my I help you."

He was unprepared for a familiar voice to respond, "Shaw Asylum, room 1103. Weapon X, somewhere north of Mount Elbert."

"Raven?" the telepath questioned, "Is that you? Stay where you are and…"the conversation ended when the professor heard the other line hang up. Now the man was faced with a choice, he could go to those places, investigate what was there, yet this information was given by someone who last he heard was a follower of Eric. Despite everything, if there was anyone that needed help he needed to be there for them. His mind made up, the genius began climbing into his chair so he could go to the airport to catch a late night flight. He'd tell Logan about the Weapon X tip on the way out, he hoped Ororo could handle the kids on her own.

* * *

Charles wished the name "Shaw Asylum" wasn't so popular. After catching a flight to Britain, it took the man a few days to figure out the call was made from somewhere in the area of a small German village, it took another day to travel to the asylum.

Luckily he was greeted warmly by the receptionist and pointed to the room he requested. Along the way he ran into the director of the facility, who was currently going on about how state of the art the treatments where. As patient as he was, Charles was glad the man was needed else were and rushed off before he arrived at his destination. Like the rest of the doors to the patient rooms, this one had a slot in order to look at the patient before entering. Using the arms of his wheelchair to push himself up, Charles looked through the peephole to see a young girl with long black hair bound in a strait jacket. Depressed by the sight, he was about to look away when he noticed a blue glow start to surround the girl, before she said, "Daddy, don't go." the glow then radiated outward, throwing the girl's bed against the wall.

Knowing what he needed to do, Charles was about to go back to the lobby to request the proper forms only to find the receptionist walking up to him. "I believe you'll need these." The genius nodded his thanks as he accepted the forms and pen and began to fill everything out, only pausing briefly when he saw the girl's name.

'Wanda Maximoff? Just how far have you fallen old friend?' While he contemplated this, the head of the asylum walked by and seemed to figure out what was going on.

"Oh no Mr. Xavier, you are not taking one of my patients." The man smugly declared.

"It's Professor Xavier actually, and yes I will be taking Miss Maximoff." The Asylum head looked ready to argue, only to lose his voice as Charles glared at him, "After carefully reviewing the patient's file, it is clear that Miss Maximoff needs individual care, something that your facility cannot provide. I will be taking over her care, or do I need to get people higher up involved?"

The man sweated a little before say, "Fine, have the girl." He then turned to the receptionist and said, "I don't know how, but I know you're involved. We're going to have a nice long talk later."

"No we won't, I quit." and with that the woman unlocked the door to Wanda's room, turned on her heel, and walked off. Charles was tempted to call after her, to see if she was who he believed she was, but he had more pressing matters.

Carefully moving into the room as the girl woke up, the man said, "Hello young one. My name is Charles Xavier, and I'd like to help you."

Wanda didn't seem to trust him as she asked, "Why do you want to help me? You don't know me."

"I shouldn't need a reason to help someone." Charles explained, "I just want to use my gifts to help the make a world a better place, one where people like us can co-exist with everyone."

Wanda gave the man a strange look as she repeated, "People like us?"

"Yes," Charles said as he used his telepathy to talk in the girl's mind, 'those who have the capacity to do great good or great evil. I want to help you Wanda, now which will you choose?'

The girl still seemed hesitant as she asked, "You can help me control my powers? I won't be a danger to anyone?"

The professor nodded his head as he said, "It will take practice and effort, but yes in time you can learn control as I have."

The girl was shocked and asked aloud, "You had trouble too?"

"Why yes, usually it's only those who have passive mutations, ones that affect the body, that have complete control in the beginning. When my powers first manifested I thought I was growing crazy, all the voices I heard. It took me a year to figure out they weren't mine. So, I take it you want to get out of here?"

The girl rapidly nodded her head as she said, "Please, I want help and this place won't give it to me."

Charles smiled as he said, "Okay then young lady. Let's get you properly dressed and get you to my house." As he left so some female nurses could take of the strait jacket and into some proper clothes, Charles wondered how Logan was doing.

* * *

At first, Logan thought the latest tip off had been another bust. Not that he was complaining, he always did enjoy long rides on his bike, even with his memory lose it seemed to be a constant in his life. After following a road up one of the Rockies, the mutant was about to turn around and go back to the mansion, until two guys started shooting at him. Even with his advanced healing, getting shot still hurt. Seeing how these two weren't going to talk things out with him, Logan figured he'd arrived at the right place and roared as he jumped off his bike.

After the two goons were taken care of, Logan easily found the door they were guarding. As soon as it opened he could see a multitude of people freeze in the middle of their everyday activities. Some whore lab coats while others had green jumpsuits, all had the insignia of a multi-head dragon like creature. Instantly recognizing the insignia of a few cells he and Steve had taken apart in the war, Logan popped his claws as he set to work.

After business was taken care of, the man began to wonder the halls of the facility, dealing with a few stray H.Y.D.R.A. agents he ran across. He walked for perhaps an hour until he came to something interesting. Lining the hall was a series of cylinder's, the first being marked as "X-11". As, the man walked down the hallway, the "X's" numbers increased until he came to an actual door, locked with a card reader, marked "X-23."

Not having the patience to go back and find someone ranked high enough to open the door, Logan simply popped the claws on his right hand and destroyed the lock, gritting his teeth in annoyance as he was slightly electrocuted. Walking into the room, he saw it was mostly empty save for someone kneeling down in one of the corners. Approaching slowly, Logan carefully placed his hand on the child's shoulder as he said, "I don't know how you got here kid, but I think you should get out of here."

To his surprise, the kid quickly turned and attacked him as they cried, "No more needles!" Logan stumbled back as he felt something cut into his chest and shins.

"Hey kid watch the…claws?" the mutant finished weakly. Despite being attacked, he now got a good look at the kid, a girl with tanned skin, brown eyes, and short brown hair dressed in hospital scrubs. What held Logan's attention were the metal claws extending out of the girl's body, two from each hand and one from each foot. Given the information, it wasn't hard to figure everything out. 'So they cloned me,' Logan thought to himself, 'and they put a kid through the bonding process.'

As he carefully removed the girl's claws from his body, Logan asked, "Okay brat, what's your name."

The girls didn't hesitate as she said, "X-23."

Logan groaned before saying, "That's a serial number, not a name."

The girl gave him a light glare before saying, "Well then I don't have one."

Logan shook his head as he took off his leather jacket and put it around the girl's shoulder's before lifting her up and telling her. "We'll figure this out later, right now let's get you out of here, keep your eyes close."

The girl nodded her head before closing her eyes as she said, "Okay…dad."

It was just for a fraction of a second, but Logan froze when he heard that single word before smiling. True, technically the girl was a clone of him, even if she was imperfect, but she was his flesh and blood. As he walked through the blood stained halls, the man thought that it wouldn't be so bad having a kid, he just hope Charles didn't mind looking after another brat.

* * *

It took longer than expected for Charles and Wanda to return to the mansion. Part of this was due to the sudden storm over Britain, another part was the planes having unexpected mechanical difficulty seconds after the pair boarded. Discarding those events, the man was just happy to be home as he was greeted at the door by an African American woman with long white hair. "Hello Ororo, I trust everything was alright while I was away?"

The woman nodded before saying, "Nothing I couldn't handle, besides a surprise or two. And who is this?" Ororo asked as she faced Wanda.

Hesitantly the girl gave a small wave before saying, "Hello, my name is Wanda."

The woman smiled before saying, "Hello Wanda. There are some other kids here, would you like to meet them?" When the girl nodded her head, Ororo gently took her hand and began to lead her to the back yard.

As he followed the two, Charles asked, "You mentioned a surprise, did Hank or anyone else stop by?"

Here the woman shook her head, "No one's stopped by Charles. As hard as it is, I think you need to admit your friend isn't coming back. Last you heard he was getting a teaching degree, he can pass as human, he's trying to lead a normal life."

The professor rubbed he forehead as he replied, "I know, but sometimes it's hard to admit the truth aloud."

By now the group had arrived at the backyard to see a red headed girl and a boy with red sunglasses playing tag with another girl wearing a familiar leather jacket. Wanda seemed unsure what to do until the man motioned for her to go join the group, even then there was some hesitation.

Once the two adults were left alone, Ororo asked, "So what's this one's story?"

Charles released a great sigh before saying, "She's Eric's daughter." Ororo was about to interrupt her friend right then. She hadn't been found by the institute until after the big split between teams, but she knew the basics of the man. She was going to question if the girl could be trusted before Scott tripped on his previously tied shoelaces. "She doesn't have control of her powers, Eric's solution was to lock her away. This would have made the situation worse, she might have gained control but only for the sake of revenge." Nodding his head toward the group, Charles asked, "Where did you find the new addition?"

"Oh, that wasn't me." Seeing the look Charles was giving her, Ororo elaborated by saying, "Logan found her at the place you sent him. After some tests we determined she was an imperfect clone of the man." This shocked Charles, but the woman wasn't done speaking, "Whoever made her wanted a new Wolverine, they went so far as to bond adamantium to the girl's claws, but luckily she was freed before the metal could be bonded to her entire skeleton. Even before this, Logan was insistent on raising her as his own, he's been calling her Laura."

Charles nodded at this, asking, "It'll be an interesting few years, won't it?"

Before the woman could respond, another uncontrolled blast from Wanda caused Laura to be launched into the air and into a tree. On instinct, the girl popped her claws, causing her lower blades to be sunk into the trunk. As the girl struggled to get free, the other children began to gather to try to pull her out.

Shaking her head, Ororo replied, "It certainly will be."

* * *

It had been a few weeks since Raven quit her job at the asylum. Currently she was cooking lunch in the cabin's kitchen when she heard a familiar noise behind her. Not hearing any footsteps, the woman said aloud, " _Kurt, what have I told you about juggling your grandparents' knives?_ "

Turning around, the mother saw her son hanging by his tail on one of the cabin's support beams, a large knife held in each of his hands while a third one was held by one of his feet. Gulping the boy replied, " _Only do it on ground level._ "

Raven nodded at those words. Seeing how he wasn't in trouble, Kurt released his tail and landed on his free foot before he began juggling the blades. While it may seem dangerous, Raven knew her son would be fine, superhuman dexterity and reflexes made juggling child's play. Of course, giving the child a hobby also kept him occupied and out of people's hair for long periods of time, until Kurt decided to find a new pursuit.

As he juggled the blades, Kurt began to say, " _Hey Mother,_ "

Only to be cut off by Raven as she said, "Use your English." Like herself, her son also had a talent for languages; it was only a matter of making sure he practiced regularly.

Beginning slowly, Kurt continued, "I heard from Grandfather that a circus was coming tonight. Can we go?"

Raven thought about the request. It was a risk, although many knew that the Wagners where looking after her and her son, they didn't know all of the details. Yet at the same time wasn't it cruel to keep her son locked up in this cabin and confined to the surrounding woods? The poor boy only ever talked to three people, none of them his own age.

Deciding to take the risk, Raven said, "Make sure you have your cloak, we'll go later tonight."

Kurt quickly threw all the knives back into their proper place before hugging his mom and saying thank you repeatedly.

* * *

With her disguised and Kurt covered by the large grey cloak both mother and son were able to enjoy the show, although Raven couldn't shake the feeling something was odd about this particular circus. This proved to be true as one of the performers approached them as they were leaving and said, "The boss would like to talk to you." The tone of the man's voice made it clear that they didn't have a choice.

As they were walked to one of the tents, Kurt asked, " _Mom, should we go home now?_ " Raven made sure that her son understood that there were people in the world, both human and mutant, that wanted nothing but to watch the world burn. The question was one of the codes they'd developed, he was asking if they should teleport away.

Shaking her head, Raven said, " _Not yet honey, let's see what this man wants first_."

The inside of the tent was sparsely decorated, just a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. The man currently sitting at the desk was dressed as the stereotypical ringmaster. Looking up from his writing, he said, "Come now, no need for disguises here."

Both mutants were shocked they'd been found out so easily. Never the less, Raven changed back to her blue form and pulled Kurt's hood back. "You know what we are?"

The man nodded before saying, "I'm human, but I grew up with friends who were different, unique."

"While it's nice to know there are kind people in this world, what do you want with me and my son?"

"Why to offer you a place with my circus." Raven was about to yell at the ring master before he continued, "This is a place where no one judges each other, each of us is unique in some way. Here is a place where you can travel the world without having to hide, everyone assumes we wear costumes. Here is a place where you and your son are free to be yourself."

Raven was taken aback by the offer, it seemed like a dream come true. Yet everything that she had been through made the woman skeptical of everything, so instead of accepting she asked, "Can we have some time to think it over?"

The man nodded as he said, "We are in town for another day, please come back at your earliest convenience."

* * *

The walk back to the cabin was silent, Raven deep in thought about the ring master's offer. Sensing his mother's unease, Kurt asked, "What is the matter mother?"

Raven sighed before saying, "I'm just thinking about what the man said."

"Are you going to say yes?" Kurt asked.

"I really don't know. What do you want to do?" Since he could talk, Raven had asked Kurt's opinion about choices that affected his life. While she wouldn't always follow her son's wishes, she hoped to get Kurt prepared for when he would need to make his own choice and to defend his actions.

Kurt surprised his mother by hugging her and saying, " _I don't want my mom to worry anymore._ "

Bending down to hug her son, the woman said, " _I don't want to either, but it's a mother's job to make sure her children are safe._ "

* * *

The performers where gathered around a train as Raven knelt in front of her son. "Now you have my phone number and my email?"

"Yes mother, I can reach you if I need to."

"Don't worry ma'am," the ringmaster said as he walked forward, "We'll take care of him, are you sure you won't come with us?"

"As much as I want to, I shouldn't." Raven said as she stood. "I've done some things in the past I'm not proud of; I don't want anyone hurting my son because of my mistakes, not again."

With that Raven quickly hugged her son while she said, "Behave yourself." Then sent Kurt on his way onto the train. She watched as the train pulled away from the station and stayed until the train was out of sight. Once she was alone, Raven began to walk toward another train. Passing by a column, Raven quickly changed her appearance to that of a woman with short brown hair and glasses wearing a business suit before boarding the train.

* * *

It had been a few months since Raven had left Kurt with the circus. In that time she had traveled back to the United States and had established herself in Mississippi. It was easy enough to get a job at the local high school. While she did feel somewhat guilty about forging her credentials, she had actually earned her degree back before the whole Charles and Erik debacle. Currently she was using the alias Ms. Darkhölme.

After another day dealing with her class, why did the new teachers always get stuck with the delinquents?, all Raven wanted to do was get back to her apartment, but it seemed fate had different plans. As she was about to open the door to her building, a girl ran by and tried to swipe her purse, only for Raven to keep a hold of it. Having enough of kids that day, Raven began to scold the girl by saying, "I am tired of trust fund brats thinking they can do whatever they want. What would your parents say if they knew what you were doing?"

"Considering my folks kicked me out, I don't think they care!" the girl yelled back. Only now did Raven get a good look at the girl. Seeing the fresh cuts and over sized clothes she was quickly able to tell what the girl's current living situation was. Having once lived like that, Raven sighed before opening the door to the building. "Come in and grab something to eat and we'll forget about this. Do not make me regret this."

The girl seemed hesitant, but her growling stomach made her choice. After arriving in Raven's small apartment, the woman began to make a quick bite to eat for the girl. Both were silent until Raven asked, "Can I get your name?"

The girl was silent for a moment, contemplating whether she could trust the woman before she said, "Anna Marie."

Nodding at the girl's name, Raven place the food in front of the girl while she asked, "So what did your parent's kick you out for?"

Anna Marie snorted before saying, "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

Raven answered the challenge with a smirk of her own as she said, "Try me."

The girl released a breath before saying, "About a year ago I got real sick. My ma touched my forehead to see if I was warm. I felt a rush of memories that weren't mine and I felt better, but then I see ma on the floor. My pa saw everything and yelled at me to get out. I've been wandering ever since."

"That is quite an interesting story." Raven said. "But I think I have a better one." Without warning, she shifted into her true form, startling the girl so much that she fell out of her seat. Helping the girl back up, but being sure not to touch her skin, Raven continued, "You're like me, you have a gift. I know a place where you can go…"

Anna Marie quickly cut the woman off by saying, "No thanks. This ain't my first time getting caught, I've been through enough foster homes. I'm fine where I'm at."

Although she wanted to argue with the girl about how Charles' school would be different, Raven recognized the stubbornness in Anna Marie's eyes. Not wanting the girl to go back on the street, the woman said, "Then how about something different?"

Now curious, Anna Marie crossed her arms as she said, "What do you have in mind?"

"You stay here," Raven began, "aside from a few basic rules, you'll have free reign to do what you want, but you have to go to school."

The offer was tempting, even with the mandatory school. Living almost completely free with guaranteed food and a warm bed, it seemed too good to be true. Smiling, Anna Marie held out her gloved hand and said, "Deal."

* * *

"So why do we have to go to this circus again?" Anna Marie asked Raven as they walked into the tent. The past year had done the girl wonders. Her once corpse-like skin had begun to regain its color. The girl also had clothes that fit properly, and while Raven was slightly concerned that the girl she started seeing as her daughter was dressing in predominately dark colors, she did give Anna Marie the freedom to dress how she wanted, provided it followed the school's dress code. Truthfully, both were just glad there hadn't been any incidents since the girl started staying with Raven, even the few times someone managed to touch a bare patch of Anna Marie's skin.

To answer the question from her surrogate daughter, she was still waiting on the paperwork to arrive, Raven said, "One of the performers is someone I haven't seen in a long time. Now let's find some seats and enjoy the show."

The two women enjoyed the show. After the performance of the twin fire eaters, Anna Marie asked her guardian if they were mutants as well. Raven responded by saying that she wasn't sure, but at least one performer was.

The conversation was cut short when the ringmaster stepped into the spotlight, "Ladies and gentlemen, I trust you have enjoyed our show so far." The man had to pause to and allow the audience to clap before he continued, "But now I am afraid that it is time for our last act, but fear not for we have saved the best for last." The crowd began whispering among itself, they had already seen all the acts that had been advertised. "Before we begin, I have to ask everyone to re-frame from taking photos of our star," the ringmaster continued, "Now, please help me welcome to the ring the one, the only 'Demon of the High Wire'!"

The spotlights suddenly moved upward, revealing a boy in what appeared to be an elaborate costume. The lack of a shirt exposed his blue torso to the world, while a tail pointed out from his loose black pants. The boy gave a short bow before he stepped on the wire. Despite easily being a hundred feet up, the boy didn't seemed fazed as he yawned and quickly laying back and seemingly taking a nap.

As a few members of the audience began to grow impatient, the boy suddenly launched himself into a front flip, landing on his hands. Not fazed by this turn of events, the boy proceeded to use his hands and move forward. About halfway down the wire, the boy shifted his weight forward so that his feet now rested on the wire.

After quickly covering the rest of the distance, the boy quickly grabbed something off the platform before stepping back on the wire, backwards. As the boy continued moving along the wire, Anna Marie could see that he was now juggling three heavy looking swords. 'There's no way he can keep that up.' the girl thought to herself.

Just as that thought went through Anna Marie's head, the boy made it back to the halfway point of the wire. Here the boy grabbed two of the swords out of the air and made an attempt at the third, only for the blade to fall and slice the wire and impale itself in the ground below. The entire audience gasped as they saw the wire start falling, the boy along with it, until the performer disappeared in a poof of smoke. The crowd wondered where the boy went, until another poof of smoke erupted in the center of the ring. Once the air cleared, the audience was stunned to see the boy, perfectly fine, balanced on the pummel of the sword. After a second of stunned silence, the audience erupted into applause.

After the boy took several bows he once more disappeared in a poof of smoke, taking all of the swords with him. At this point, the Ringmaster stepped back into the spotlight to say, "And that is the end of our show, I hope everyone enjoyed it! Good night!"

As the crowd funneled out of the tent, Anna Marie was surprised when Raven grabbed her shoulder and started pulling her in a different direction. Curious, the girl asked, "Where are we going?"

"I told you before didn't I? There's someone here I haven't seen for a long time."

Anna Marie was going to ask more questions, only to realize that they had arrived at one of the performer's tents. Not missing a beat, Raven stepped inside, dragging the girl with her. Once inside, Anna Marie found herself face to face with the boy from the High Wire.

" _Mother!_ " the boy said as he hugged Raven, " _I can't believe you are actually here!_ "

" _Of course Kurt, didn't I say I'd be here?_ "

Not knowing German, Anna Marie was even more confused and asked, "Could someone tell me what's going on here?"

"Well I suppose introductions are in order," Raven began before standing beside Kurt. "Anna Marie, meet Kurt Wagner, my son and someone like us." Raven had to hide her smirk at the girl's widening eyes and dropping jaw. "Kurt, this is Anna Marie, a girl I've been taking care of."

Kurt stepped forward and offered his hand, "Nice to meet you, I hope my mother hasn't been driving you too crazy."

Anna Marie hesitantly accepted the hand, not wanting to drain Kurt, "Nice to meet ya as well. Don't worry, your mom isn't that bad."

Here Kurt raised an eyebrow and asked, "My mom, don't you mean our mom?" Seeing the blank look the girl was making Kurt asked, "You don't know about the adoption papers?"

"No son," Raven spoke up, "that was supposed to be a surprise."

"Whoops," Kurt said as he scratched the back of his head. Recognizing the look his mother was giving him, the mutant quickly said, "Sorry, bye!" before teleporting out of the tent.

Raven shook her head as she said, "What am I going to do with that boy?" Seeing the questioning look Anna Marie was giving her, the woman sighed before saying, "I wasn't going to force you to sign anything, but I've been looking after you for a while now and I've come to see you as my daughter. If you don't feel the same I understand, but you're free to stay in my apartment."

Raven was surprised when Anna Marie quickly responded by saying, "I'll sign. You may not be my ma biologically, but you've taken me in and helped me through a rough time in my life."

This only made Raven smile as she hugged her new daughter and said, "Well let's go find your brother. Knowing him he's either at the food tent or practicing his knife throwing."

Anna Marie only nodded her head, wondering what kind of family she'd just joined.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Anna Marie questioned her mother as she watched the woman pack the last of her clothes.

"Unfortunately I am." Raven responded. It had been a few years since she'd adopted Anna Marie, but she still kept her ears open. Recently she'd heard something about how a mysterious benefactor was nearly complete with Project: Asteroid M. Knowing a Magneto project when she saw one, Raven made the choice to move closer and keep a better eye on the situation. Of course the best area for recon was back in Bayville.

While Raven trusted her own abilities to remain hidden and avoid Charles' mind reading, she was unsure her daughter could do the same. Although Anna Marie's mutation seemed to have calmed down, the initial awakening probably a freak event, when the genes were fully awaken it would bring attention, from both Charles and Erik. Unwilling to endanger one of her children, Raven decided to go ahead and ensure everything was safe before Kurt or Anna Marie were introduced into the equation. Luckily Bayville High needed a new principle, the perfect position for Raven's plans.

Once she was done packing and back in the Ms. Darkhölme persona, Raven began heading toward the door while she called over her shoulder, "My friend will be here in a few days, do you remember the code phrase?"

Anna Marie nodded as she said, "Yes Mother, and I have your cell and email, as well as Kurt's in case something happens."

Raven smiled as she said, "That's my girl." She then walked out of the apartment, hoping this would be the last time she'd be walking away from someone she loved.

* * *

 **And that a wrap for Chapter 2 with 14 pages.**

 **I'm sorry it took me awhile to update, but the real world's been kicking my butt. First it's the end of the semester, so I've have to finish two research papers and a project, then I have finals. What's worse is that my computer broke down just a few days after I posted the update to** _ **A New Realm**_ **! Thank goodness I had the sense to save my work, both school and fanfiction, to a stick and didn't lose anything important.**

 **Thankfully I was able to borrow a computer from my school, but as previously stated I really needed to focus on school. Luckily my brother, whose job it is to fix computers, will be down here for the holidays, but I will still be without a PC for a few weeks. Sorry for getting real world with everyone, I just want to explain my coming absence.**

 **So with this chapter done, there's a few questions such as…**

 **How will Laura and Wanda affect the story?**

 **What plans will Raven have behind the scenes?**

 **Who else will join the X-Men? (Kind of obvious isn't it?)**

 **Find out the answers to these questions and more in the coming chapters of** _ **One Small Change**_ **.**

 **Until then, this is acw28 saying, "until next update."**


	3. A New Beginning

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 back with another update of** _ **One Small Change**_ **!**

 **I don't really have much to say, just that school started back up yesterday so I'm going to have less free time to write. I do have some good news though, I finally got my laptop fixed so I don't have to worry about finding a free spot to write.**

 **I think my previous chapters laid down the foundation pretty well, now let's get into the meat of the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I in no way shape or form own** _ **X-Men: Evolution**_ **, I'm not even sure who owns it anymore…**

* * *

The students of Bayville High cheered as the football game went on. Much like every game this season, their boys were dominating. As the cheerleaders began another cheer, the players on the field got ready for another play.

"Blue 22, Blue 22!" Number 11, Duncan Matthews, the quarterback called out. "Hut, hut!" The ball was snapped as the teen quick fell back, looking for open receivers. Despite his teammates' best efforts, some of the players from the other team managed to blitz and tried to sack Duncan. One of his teammates managed to take down one of the players, but another still charged at the quarterback. Thinking fast, Duncan quickly spun away at the other player dived at him. Already on the move, Duncan raced down the field, the opposition on his back. Multiple camera flashes went off as Duncan neared the end zone, having to jump forward before being tackled. Despite the opposing team's best effort, Duncan still scored for the home team.

As Duncan laid down, a red head, teenage girl wearing a purple shirt, khaki pants, and sandals, leaned in closer to take more pictures.

"Hey Jean," Duncan began as he asked his girlfriend, "you taking those for the yearbook?"

"No," the green eyed beauty replied, "this one is for my personal collection."

* * *

The crowd cheered as the announcer said Duncan had scored once more. In the stand Scott Summers, still wearing his red sunglasses despite the pitch black sky, observed the scene with mixed feelings as he rolled a nickel along his knuckles. He was happy that his friend was happy, but still wished she was happy with him.

Scott's other friend, a girl with long brown hair wearing an old leather jacket, noticed his quietness and instantly knew what he was thinking. "You only have yourself to blame you know," the girl began, "if you weren't such a boy scout you could have asked her out years ago." A devious smile appeared on her face as she said, "You know I could take care of Duncan for a while, give you an opening."

"Settle down Laura," Scott began, "your dad may be traveling, but you still have to follow the professor's rules, which means no fighting."

Laura crossed her arms and pouted as she mumbled, "You never let me have any fun."

* * *

As Duncan took off his helmet to get some air, two of his teammates pointed over to the bleachers where a sickly looking teen with ripped jeans and a brown hoodie carefully looked around before he began walking behind the seats.

"Looks like Tolansky is at it again."

After observing the boy pick pocket someone walking by, Duncan smiled before asking his coach, "Hey coach, can we be excused for a second?"

The man looked at the scoreboard, showing that Bayville had a commanding lead. "Sure," the coach said as he waved the three away, "just be back soon."

"You got it coach." Duncan replied as he put his helmet back on and lead his teammates toward the bleachers, one of them laughing and saying, "We're going to have some fun."

* * *

Scott continued to watch the game while his mind was on Laura's offer. If he had a chance, could he really have a relationship with Jean? Although they'd known each other practically their entire lives, he'd managed to hide his feelings for her, the only reason Laura knew was because of her advance sense of smell, stupid hormones. But even if he'd been chasing after the girl his entire life, there was no guaranty Jean felt the same way. These treacherous thoughts were enough to make the boy lose his concentration, the nickel he'd previously been playing with sliding off his hand.

"Dang my change." As Scott saw his coin slip into the darkness underneath the seats, he saw a hand reach into the back pocket of the man sitting in front of him, removing his wallet. Having an idea who the culprit was, Scot quickly stood up as he told Laura, "Stay here." trusting the girl to listen to him for once.

Laura watched as Scott walked down the steps. After losing sight of the older boy, she counted to ten and slowly walked over to the side railing. With one last check to make sure no one was looking, the girl quickly jumped over the railing, landing as Scott rounded the corner. Not having time to deal with the Institute's resident delinquent, Scott only shook his head before walking under the bleachers.

* * *

Under the bleachers, Todd Tolansky was using his legs to stabile himself as he calmly reached for another wallet. On realizing the poor man of his cash, the boy laughed to himself before saying, "Got another one." Understandably, he was unprepared to be yanked down, landing hard on his back. The teen groaned as he looked up to see one of his personal tormentor, Duncan.

"Well, well, looks like Tolansky is collecting for charity."

Todd nervously smiled and gave a little wave before saying, "Hey Duncan."

This appeared to be the wrong thing to say as the jock grabbed the front of the younger teen's hoodie before slamming him into a nearby post, "Shut it Toad-face!" The other two players just stayed in the background and laughed. The situation would have grown worse, if a calmer voice didn't speak up.

"How about we calm down before things get out of hand?" Scott asked as he walked forward.

"Really Summers, you're going to defend this trash?" Duncan asked.

Scott didn't seem phased at the harshness of Duncan's voice, instead he said, "The wallets are still here, let's just return the cash and forget this happened."

"Yeah, we can do that." Todd weakly said as he held up a crumpled stack of Twenty Dollar bills.

"I think not Summers, I think me and my buds are going to squash this amphibian. So you and your stupid 'sunglasses at night act' can just bail." Duncan punctuated his statement by tossing his victim to the ground.

As Duncan turned his back to Scott to stomp on Todd, the teen took the opportunity to tackle the quarterback. Todd, recognizing a golden opportunity, started hopping away, covering the distance in a few bounds. Duncan's teammates quickly realized Todd escaped, and rushed off to find him, Laura steeped out of the shadows and silently followed them.

Duncan quickly recovered from Scott's surprise attack and settled into a boxing stance as he said, "Big mistake Summers." The two began their short brawl, exchanging a few fists. Scott managed to grab Duncan's jersey and was about to deliver another hit, until he heard a voice say, "Scott, no!"

It only took half a second for Scott to see Jean standing at the entrance to the bleachers, resulting in the boy freezing. Duncan took advantage of that half second to throw a heavy hit at the other teen, sending Scott into a support beam and knocking off his glasses.

On instinct Scott opened his eyes, instantly two destructive lasers from his eyes. Duncan was thrown back when the lasers first hit the ground. Trying to keep from harming anyone, Scott immediately shifted his gaze elsewhere.

* * *

Laura kicked a loose rock as she walked around the crowd. Despite her keen senses, she'd soon lost both Todd and his pursuers, the crowd making it hard to find a single scent. As the girl lamented the lack of excitement in her life, and wished the professor would let her other friend attend public school, the teen wondered close to the closed snack stand. Time seemed to freeze as the girl saw two red lasers inches away from the propane tank. In that one second, one though appeared in Laura's head.

'Fuck me.'

* * *

Although the blast was large no one was nearby, but that didn't stop the students from panicking and running away. Even with the annoyance of texting in class, living in the age of cellphones had its advantages. Within minutes of the blast, firefighters had arrived to battle the blaze, paramedics to help the few injured, and police officers came to try to figure out what happened. Almost unnoticed among the emergency vehicles, an old limousine slowly cruised along the street, its occupants observing the scene.

Under the bleachers, Jean calmly walked among the flames, searching for Scott's discarded sunglasses. Finding them near a piece of burning wood, the teen used her telekinesis to left the log out of the way before using the same power to levitate the sunglasses upward. A quick search also found Scott, his eyes firmly closed. Walking slowly to her friend, Jean put his sunglasses back on, "Here you go Scott."

Feeling the familiar weight on his ears, Scott opened his eyes before saying, "Jean, listen I…"

Only to be cut off by the girl, "I know it was an accident," She then turned her attention toward the field where Duncan was lying on a stretcher beside an ambulance, "but you should probably get out of here."

Slightly embarrassed by the situation, Scott nodded before saying, "I will after I find Laura."

"Here I am." the girl in question said as she walked away from a pile of rubble. The younger teen stopped briefly to pull a chunk of shrapnel from her leg before walking to rejoin the group.

Satisfied that her fellow mutants were unharmed, Jean said a quick goodbye before walking over to her boyfriend, catching the police officer asking what happened. In response Duncan groaned before saying his head hurt and he couldn't remember, the paramedic quickly examined the boy's eyes with a penlight and concluded he had a concussion and needed medical attention. The officer turned toward the blaze and began speaking.

"It looks to me like…"only to stop in the middle of his sentence before continuing, "of course, must have been a leak in that propane tank."

While the officer was talking to himself, Jean quickly went to Duncan's side. "Duncan, are you alright?"

"Yeah Jean, you know me. Skull like concrete." The quarterback tried to get Jean to quiet worrying about him by knocking on his head, only to wince in pain.

Despite herself, Jean gave a small smile as she said, "Ah, you poor baby."

* * *

On the other side of the field, Laura and Scott saw the short conversation, the latter forming a fist in mild anger. Cautiously walking behind the pair, Todd stopped saying, "Thanks, really. Ya know?"

Laura walked away, completely ignoring the boy. While Scott followed the girl, he spared a second to tell Todd, "Yeah, I know." As the two walked away, the remaining teen bent his legs and knees at an odd angle that to a normal human would be uncomfortable, before unleashing an extremely long tongue to catch a passing fly. After a quick look around to insure the coast was clear, Todd began hopping away.

* * *

Inside the limousine, the drive turned toward the sole occupant and asked, "Should we give the kids a ride back home?"

The man sitting in the back shook his head as he looked out the window, saying, "Scott has the situation under control, for now at least. He can give Laura a ride back, I'm sure Jean can fend for herself." Turning his attention forward, the man said, "Come now Ororo, I believe Wanda is getting curious as to where we went, moreover we have a train to catch."

* * *

Kurt was annoyed. Not because of the occasional looks he got for wearing his cloak that hid his entire body. No, he was annoyed because his mother pulled him out of the circus to attend some school in America. Carefully holding his phone as to keep his hand hidden, the teen began texting his reply to the already long conversation he was having with his mother.

'I still don't see why I need to come to this school. I looked through the pamphlet, it's for people who have problems with their powers, I've mastered mine.'

The reply came within half a minute, 'Yes, assuming you don't have a secondary mutation, not to mention you need to make some friends your own age.'

Snorting, Kurt typed back, 'I have plenty of friends my age, I make them in every town I visit.'

'Yes I know,' Kurt could almost hear the sarcasm in his mother's voice, 'I get notified every time the train gets chased out of a village because some farmer caught the 'demon attempting to steal their daughter's virtue.'

'We were only making out!' Kurt was quick to correct, although he left out the fact that the girls tended to lose their shirts before they were found out.

'You're going to the school and that's final, I'll see you in a few days.'

Although he was greatly confused by the last part of the message, Kurt didn't have enough time to reply before the train stopped. Sighing, the teenager grabbed his bags before walking onto the platform. He guessed he could give this school a try, if things didn't work out he could always teleport back home.

* * *

"Come on Jean!" Scott said as he banged on the bathroom door, "We're going to be late."

"Just a second Scott, I'm almost done." The boy only shook his head as he watched Laura walk by, how was it some girls could take five minutes to get ready while others needed almost an hour?

Growing increasingly impatient, Scott brought a hand to his glasses as he threatened, "That's it Jean. Ready or not I'm blasting down this," only to be stopped when the door opened, "door."

"See," Jean said as she walked by the boy, "I didn't take that long now did I?"

In reply, Scott rolled his eyes while muttering, "whatever" under his breath.

As the two were walking down the stairs, they heard a voice call to them, "Scott, Jean, could you join us for a second?" Walking into the room, the duo were greeted by their caretakers and teachers for the past few years, Charles Xavier and Ororo Munroe, also known as Professor X and Storm respectively, as well as their friend Laura and another girl, Wanda, who had long black hair and a red blouse and blue jeans. The one oddity was the figure wearing the grey cloak, with the hood up.

"Now that everyone is here, I'd like you four to meet our new student, Kurt."

Seeing the figure nod but make no further action, Scott took the initiative and held out his hand as he said, "Hey man, welcome to the Institute."

Kurt seemed hesitant to do anything until Ororo spoke up, "Go ahead Kurt, you're among friends here." Still unsure, Kurt no the less held his hand out and said "Hello" in a mild German accent, only to pull his hand back at Scott's stunned reaction to his blue, three fingered hand.

Not wanting to have Kurt get the wrong impression, Charles tried a little misdirection, "I was just explaining to Kurt that I set up this school to help those with gifts, some harder to control than others. Isn't that right Scott?"

Knowing the subtle punishment, Scott only nodded before saying, "Sorry about what happened last night Professor, it was an accident." Although he knew he was mostly at fault, the teenager still tried to shift some of the blame, "But what do you expect, it was a bad situation and I'm packing a bazooka behind each eyeball."

"Wow," Kurt spoke up, surprising most present as he pulled down his hood, "sounds better than being blue."

"So what else you got blue boy?" Laura asked as stretched her back.

Kurt smirked before saying, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Wanda blushed at the innuendo while Laura laughed. As she held up a fist to pop some of her claws, Laura smirked as she said, "You and me will get along just fine blue boy."

Kurt nodded before saying, "That's pretty cool," he then teleported beside the girl, leaning over her as he said, "but it doesn't do you any good if you can't catch some one. Isn't that right short stuff?"

There were few things that could set Laura off, chief among them someone threatening her friends or commenting on her height, she just hadn't hit her growth spurt yet! Snarling, the slightly younger girl took a swipe at the boy, only to have him teleport away. Immediately giving chase, Laura yelled between grunts, "I take it back elf, we're going to have some problems."

Not wanting a headache this early in the morning, the Professor nodded to Jean who knew what he wanted. Using her powers, the girl picked the two up and held them in the air. Already sensing the lecture coming, Laura retracted her claws and crossed her arms. "Laura we've been over this, you need to keep your temper in check. As for you Kurt, please try not to antagonize your fellow students, I'd like to keep my home in one piece." After getting an apology from both students, Charles had Jean put them down. "Now I believe that is everything, Kurt will be joining you all for classes tomorrow after the paperwork gets filled."

"Wait," Laura asked, "all of us? Does that mean?"

"Yep," Wanda smiled as she said, "the Professor believes I have control on my powers enough to attend public school."

"And of course, it wouldn't hurt to have another set of eyes on you Laura." Ororo quickly said.

Said girl grunted before saying, "Come on, I didn't cause the explosion, at least not this time!"

* * *

Not having the nicest upbringing, Todd was familiar with back ally meetings before school. Usually it was some nerd who was willing to pay big bucks for a collectable the teenager had recently "acquired," other times it was a jock who needed answers to some upcoming test. No matter what the situation called for, Todd was always up for it as long as the price was right. That was why when a man in a three-piece suit and white hair was waiting for him, Todd didn't bat an eye as he took his seat on top of a trash can.

"So," the boy began, "I'm guessin' you already know my business model. So the question is, what do you want and how much you willin' to pay?"

"You are familiar with the Xavier Institute for the gifted and talented, correct?"

"Ya, I know the place, know of a few people who go there," Todd said as he shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know why though, Scott and Laura are smart enough, but Greyson seems to be the only brainiac of the bunch."

The man shook his head as he said, "All three are gifted, like you and I." Seeing the questioning look in the boy's eye, the man held out his hand and concentrated, causing the trashcan Todd was sitting on to rise up. "Now I don't care how you do it, but I want you to confirm that a girl is staying there," the man paused to pull a picture out of one of the interior pockets of his suit, "this picture is a little dated, she'd be about your age, but it should help you enough."

Todd hesitantly took the photo, a quick look revealed a young girl with black hair wearing an oversized red coat. Sensing the man would want the photo back, Todd carefully put it in his back pocket and asked, "So when do you want this done and how discreet do you want it?"

"I want the information by tomorrow morning, by any method you deem fit."

Their business done, Todd gave a brief nod to the man before turning and walking to school.

* * *

Scott was really beginning to question what he did to mess with his karma this badly. As if last night wasn't bad enough, he'd ended up forgetting his homework for first period, he was just glad his "good student" status with the teacher let the boy off with just a warning. After that, he'd had two pop quizzes in a row, then stood in front of some people that almost blew up the lab in chemistry. At least Laura seemed to be in a good mood, practically skipping throughout the day knowing her best friend would soon be joining them. As he was walking with the girl towards the lunch room he told her to go ahead of him as he grabbed his lunch out of his locker, he had no idea how his friends could stomach the garbage the lunch ladies served.

Just as his locker opened, Scott saw something appear over his left eye. Felling something pull his glasses off, Scott quickly closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his face. Having an idea who it was due to smell, Scott held out his hand and asked, "You going to give me back my shades Todd?"

Said boy smirked from his place atop the lockers as he said, "Why don't you open your eyes and get them Summers?"

"I think we both know what would happen."

"True," the younger boy said before dropping the glasses into Scott's outstretched hand. After cleaning the lens off, Scott quickly put his glasses back on, just in time to see Todd jump higher than humanly possible. "You see Summers, you and me, we're not so different. Now a reliable source told me that you and everyone else at your mansion are a lot alike."

"Get to the point Todd."

"I was thinkin' it gets lonely bein' all by yourself, ya know? So I figured I'd join up with you."

"I'll talk to the Professor, see what we can do."

"Thanks, that's all I ask." Todd replied behind a fake smile. He didn't have time to wait and hear back from Scott, plus he liked being on his own, a king of his own domain. "Oh, and thanks for the lunch!" Before Scott could react, Todd showed off his tongue by grabbing the brown paper bag before swallowing it whole.

As Todd hopped away Scott shook his head as he pulled out his cell phone, glad that Principal Darkhölme allowed students to use their phones during their lunch period.

* * *

Kurt was walking around the mansion in the uniform Professor X and Storm had provided. As he walked into a room containing a large computer screen, he noticed the professor on the phone with someone. Once the call ended, Kurt asked, "What is that?"

"This is part of Cerebro, a machine me and a friend made to help find those in need of guidance." Turning to the boy, the man said, "I hate to ask this of you before you've fully settled in, but could you help me with an addition later tonight?"

Kurt gave a thumbs up while saying, "No problem Professor," as his stomach growled, Kurt looked sheepish as he said, "but right now I should grab lunch, teleporting burns a lot of calories." That was the only warning the man got as the blue teen teleported out of the room.

After waving away the minuscule amount of smoke, Charles closed his eyes to concentrate and find Ororo. 'Storm, are you available to help tonight?'

'Of course Professor.' Sensing some hesitation, the man waited for the question. 'I don't mean to doubt you Charles, but I don't understand why you agreed to teach Kurt, he already has a handle on his powers.'

'I suppose you could say I have an ulterior motive. There were some inconsistencies regarding Kurt's application.'

'Such as?' Ororo questioned.

'The application was supposedly sent by his grandparents, who I never meet before and no one I know could have contact with, who ever wanted me aware of Kurt didn't want to be known.'

'You think he's _her_ son, don't you?'

'That is the most logical option, not very many people have blue skin. Raven went dark a number of years ago, no purchases, no activity, nothing. I'd like to believe she turned her back on Erik, but I can't be certain. If Kurt really is Raven's son, then hopefully she'll eventually make contact with him and we can know for sure. But for now that isn't our concern, let's focus on tonight. '

* * *

As he dodging another lightning bolt, Todd, or as he styled himself Toad when he wore his "armor", wondered if he bit off more than he could chew. It had been easy enough to hop over the iron fence surrounding the property. The teen had been jumping through the woods when he saw a shadow pass overhead, and then the lightning started. Luckily the mansion was just ahead.

Bursting through the doors, Toad expected sanctuary from the wacky weather, not to barrow into Kurt. As the two teens circled each other, Toad asked, "What do we have here? What's an Avatar reject doing here?"

"The name's Nightcralwer," Kurt replied, "and at least I know how to bathe."

"Oh that is it fuz butt, you're dead!" Toad tried pouncing on the other teen, only for Kurt to teleport and hang upside down from the chandler.

"I believe in American you say, neiner neiner neiner." Kurt said before sticking out his tongue. Already having a general idea of what Toad's powers were due to the debriefing the Professor gave him, Kurt was prepared for Toad to try and jump him. Timing it right, Nightcrawler waited until the last second to teleport to a far wall. As he sat horizontally, the blue teen taunted, "Is that really you're top speed? You'll never catch me going that slow." before crawling along the wall, deeper into the mansion.

As the infuriated Toad gave chase, Charles wheeled into the main foyer from the opposite hallway, shaking his head at the small destruction the two teens had already caused. The man was soon joined by Storm, wearing her X-uniform, who asked, "Is this really the best way to test young Todd?"

"We are able to harness our powers at their fullest when we are put in challenging situations." The Professor responded. At the sound of a bust breaking and a mirror shattering, Charles brought a hand to his head as he looked downward, "I just wish such methods weren't as costly."

* * *

It was in the course of his chase that Toad stumbled upon a door slightly ajar. Normally he'd just ignore it, but the first snippet of the conversation he heard caused the boy to stop.

"I don't know Laura, do you think it's a little too much?"

"You'll be fine Wanda, trust me. It's better to make an impression on the first day than have everyone wondering about the new girl for the entire year."

Slowly walking forward, the teen peaked through the crack. He easily recognized Laura Howlett even without her iconic leather jacket. The new girl was a mystery. Wearing blue jeans and a white tank top, Toad couldn't immediately place her. He felt his brain itching when he saw her black hair, the lower fringes of which were now dyed a deep maroon. Finally Toad got a good look at her face in the mirror, it was the girl from the photo!

As Toad noticed this detail, Wanda saw him in the mirror. Releasing a short scream, Wanda called on her powers to force the door outward, hitting Toad in the face and briefly pinning the boy to the opposite wall. As Toad pushed the door off of him, he saw Laura stalking forward.

"You dirty, stinking toad!" The girl only paused briefly to pop her four hand claws, she didn't want to ruin her boots. Upon seeing this, Toad gulped before hopping away.

* * *

'Okay, I know that girl's here, now to get outa here myself.' the boy thought as he blindly hopped down the halls. Unfortunately this proved to be his undoing as he collided with Kurt, who was looking for his lost "guest." The slight paused in the chase was all the time Laura needed to catch up and pounce on her prey. Hearing the girl's war cry startled the teleported, so Kurt reacted on instinct and teleported to the safest place he could sense, in this case about ten floors down.

After seeing her friend charge out of the bathroom, Wanda was fast enough to round the corner in time to see the three teens be teleported away. Knowing that the worst tended to happen when she was involved, the girl pulled her phone out of her pocket, "Professor, I think we may have a problem."

* * *

Kurt, Toad, and Laura seemed to hang in the air for a brief moment before being slammed down on a metal surface. Only seeing darkness, Kurt groaned as he asked, "Where are we?"

Before anyone could answer, the lights came on as a feminine voice said, "Intruders detected, initiating defense protocols."

"That don't sound good." Toad voiced his thoughts.

"It's not," Laura said before using her claws to slash apart part of the ceiling that was trying to crush her. "Gentlemen, welcome to the Danger Room. Keep moving and try to stay alive until the Professor can turn it off."

The next few minutes seemed to drag on forever for two of the three occupants. Toad used his jumping ability to stay out of the way of the gigantic saws and escape from the pits that seemed to randomly appear in the floor. Kurt was putting his time in the circus to good use, back flipping and cartwheeling out of range of the countless lasers, only teleporting when absolutely necessary. Despite the near death experience, Kurt wished he had his sabers on him before the events began, he could use the practice. Laura simple stood in the same spot as when the lights first came on, using her claws to slash any large objects that came her way, and ignoring the lasers that hit her, they stung but she healed quickly.

After what seemed like an eternity, the doors to the Danger were blasted inward, Scott and Jean, wearing their X-uniforms, stood on the other side, ready to assist in getting the younger teens to safety. Luckily this proved to be unnecessary as the Danger Room shut down almost immediately.

"This test is over," Charles' stern voice said over the intercom, "Mr. Todd does indeed possess the X-gene. He is free to join us if he so wishes."

"No way!" Toad yelled as he began hopping away, "You people are crazy! I'm out!"

Scott looked ready to chase after the boy, only for the Professor to stop him, "Let him go Scott, we can't help those who don't seek it."

"I'm sorry too Professor, I screwed up tonight." Kurt suddenly said. "Maybe I don't belong here." Before anyone could stop him, the blue teen teleported away.

Silence rained in the Danger Room before Scott said he'd go find the boy. After the boy left, Laura turned on her heel and began walking away. "Where are you going?" Jean asked the girl.

Laura shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm going to go make sure Wanda didn't get hurt during this mess." as if it was an everyday occurrence.

* * *

No longer concerned with subtlety, Toad broke through the first window he found, unfortunately he didn't see the man standing on the other side. Although short in stature, the brown jacket and cowboy hat wearing man was made of pure muscle. Grabbing the teen by the front of his shirt, the man asked, "Where do you think you're going, bub?"

As Todd searched for an answer, Laura walked by the broken window. Seeing who was standing outside, the girl smiled as she said, "Hey pa, glad to see you're back!"

Todd momentarily forget that his life was in mortal peril as he asked, "Pa?"

In response, Logan lifted up his other hand and popped three claws. While he wouldn't kill the boy, maiming wasn't ruled out. Before he could do anything, a voice said, "Logan, let him go." Looking to the other side of the hallway revealed Charles. Although reluctant, Logan none the less dropped the frightened teen. Once the boy had hopped away, Charles said, "It's good to see you old friend."

"Good to be back Chuck." Logan then turned to his daughter and said, "You and me are going to have a talk later, what did I say about causing explosions?"

Laura released a huff before stomping her foot as she yelled, "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

* * *

Todd walked nervously into the ally before school, to the teen's dread the man was already there.

"Do you have the information I need?"

"Listen, I went to that place last night like you asked, but once I jumped the fence my mind goes blank."

The man seemed to consider this before saying, more so to himself than the teen, "So you were mind wiped, I suppose it was bound to happen."

Todd saw his opportunity, so as he slowly backed away, the teen said, "So me and you are good then?" The teen was unprepared for the surrounding trashcans to become shredded, their remains used to pin the boy to the nearby wall.

"No Toad we are not good, I payed you for a service you failed to provide, you know work for me." After retrieving the photo he'd given the boy the day before, the man shoved a piece of paper into the boy's pocket. "That address is your new home, welcome to the brotherhood."

After the man left, the metal holding the boy lost its strength. As he slowly picked himself up off the ground, Todd taught he'd definitely bit off more than he could chew.

* * *

Kurt, wearing his casual clothes and the image projector to seem normal, sat nervously beside Wanda while he waited to see the principle. He'd been convinced to stay with the X-Men last night after he saw their plane, an SR-77 Blackbird. Flying was always something that held his interest, but he never got an opportunity to try his hand at it. Besides that, Scott, Jean, Laura, and Wanda seemed to be a lot of fun to be around, it'd be nice to have friend's he'd see every day.

The boy was pulled from his thoughts as the secretary called his name. Walking into the large office, only occupied by some bookshelves, some chairs, and a large desk, Kurt continued to feel intimidated as he looked over the principle, a woman in a business suit, brown hair, glasses, and a stern expression.

"Let's get started Mr. Wagner." Principle Darkhölme said as she indicated a chair. After Kurt took his seat, the woman placed a large stack of papers in front of him. Quickly flipping through the papers, the woman said, "Although you're previous education was un-orthodox to say the least, it appears you have meet all the qualifications to enter your grade. Here is your class schedule, the lunch menu for the month, the event calendar, and so on and so forth."

As Kurt quickly processed all the information, he noticed on paper the principle had failed to mention. "Excuse me Principle Darkhölme, but what is this?" Kurt asked as he held up the mysterious paper.

In response the woman lowered her classes before saying, "I believe that is the petition for the fencing club you mentioned you wished to start."

"Fencing club?" the boy questioned aloud, "But I never said…"

"Is there a problem Mr. Wagner?" the principle asked. As Kurt looked in her eyes, he caught a quick flash of yellow.

Smiling, the boy replied, "No ma'am, everything is fine." As he walked out of the office, Kurt noticed that Wanda only seemed to grow more worried. "Don't worry," the boy said, comforting his friend, "she's not as bad as people make her out to be."

* * *

 **And that's a wrap on chapter 3 wit 13 pages. Not my longest, but I feel it's a good length.**

 **So unfortunately, my laptop broke, again, for the same reason. Luckily I'm able to borrow one from my family, so I'm not stuck with an old clunker. However, this does mean that my update speed is going to be less, especially with what I have planned.**

 **You see, I consider the first story I started on this site,** _ **A New Realm**_ **, to be my "A" story, the one that I try to update the most and what I tend to plan the most. Everything else is kind of a "B" story, that's stuck in an update limbo while I wait for inspiration or an appropriate time to put my "A" story on the back burner.**

 **That's how it usually works, but recently a few ideas have refused to leave me alone. So what I plan to do is write the first chapters for** _ **The Bat and The Cat**_ **,** _ **Deathwing**_ **,** _ **Kitsune of the Moon**_ **, and** _ **Lost Legacy**_ **. Once all of those are complete, I'll post them all on the same day and see which one my audience prefers to read the most, at which point it'll be one of my "B" stories while the rest will go on the back burning until I get some inspiration. But again, due to current events, my laptop and college course, this will take some time, so I thank you in advance to those who stick with me in my madness.**

 **With the close of this chapter, some questions are answered while others are presented, such as…**

 **Will Charles discover the entire truth of Kurt's parentage?**

 **Who else will join the X-Men and Brotherhood? (If you watched the show, you already know.)**

 **Will Kurt be able to fly the Blackbird?**

 **To find out the answers to these questions and more, be sure to read the next chapter of** _ **One Small Change**_ **!**

 **Until then, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."**


	4. Friends Old and New

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with an update for** _ **One Small Change**_ **!**

 **Not much to say before this update. My finals are coming up next week so I'll either be close to or done with the semester when I get this posted, meaning more free time so (hopefully) quicker updates. My plan is to update this fic and than** _ **A New Realm**_ **before I get started on updating my poll winner.**

 **So without further ado, here's the next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: acw28 in no shape or form owns** _ **X-Men: Evolution**_ **, it's characters, or storylines.**

* * *

Kitty Pryde would describe herself as a typical girl from a typical home. That's why it was no surprise that she was having a typical dream, flying through a non-descript city, however her dream soon turned atypical. Kitty suddenly found herself falling, and even with the rational side of her mind knew she was asleep, she still screamed. The teen didn't know how long she screamed for, until she heard her parents.

"Kitty, what's wrong?" her mother asked.

"And why are you in the basement, were you sleepwalking?" her father asked as well.

"No I wasn't," Kitty began, the fear from the dream still in her system, "I was flying, then I was falling, I…I fell through the ceiling." the girl finished as she began to cry.

"Oh dear," her mother began while hugging the frightened teen, "I'm sure you were just having a nightmare."

Kitty's father was about to agree with his wife, until he happened to glance up. Shocked, the man said, "I don't think so." A bolt of lightening lit up the basement, revealing Kitty's bedsheets and pillows somehow stuck inside of the ceiling.

Now even more frightened, all Kitty could do was hug her mother tighter as she asked, "What's happening to me?"

* * *

At the Xavier mansion Charles was awaken in the middle of the night by a Cerebro alert. This was a common occurrence, but luckily most alerts turned out to be false alarms or mutations that were benign enough to allow the person to live a normal life. However this time the information proved concerning.

'Another signature from Northbrook, Illinois. A girl this time. Now, how to handle this?' The Professor thought to himself, knowing that tomorrow would be an eventful day.

* * *

Kurt was not having the best of days. Despite being in the United States for the past week he was still suffering from jetlag, resulting in him missing the breakfast Ororo made. Luckily the woman had been planning on visiting her sister in the city, so she was able to give the boy a ride to a nearby fast food joint for a breakfast burger. Unfortunately Ororo was running late so she was unable to give Kurt a ride to school.

As Kurt ran towards the school while finishing the last few bites of his burger, he was filled with dread as he heard the bell ring. "Oh no, late again!" Kurt berated himself. After a quick look to make sure no one was around, he teleported into the shadows by the front door. Thinking he was in the clear, the teen smirked until he bumped into Principal Darkhölme. Before he could utter a word, the woman had already grabbed Kurt's forearm to examine his image projector, which doubled as his watch.

"Watch's not running late, so it must be you." The Principal said. "I hope this doesn't become a habit of yours Mr. Wagner, I'd hate for you not to be able to form your fencing club if you are stuck in one of my afterschool classes." Kurt gulped at the threat, but luck seemed to be on his side as Scott came out of the front doors before Kurt had a chance to respond.

"There you are kid, come on your teacher sent me to come look for ya." As the pair passed by the woman and into the school Scott whispered, "Another breakfast burger gutbomb? You need to stop eating those and actually come to the mansion's breakfast."

"I would," Kurt replied, "if I wasn't still jetlagged from moving halfway across the world."

"You know staying up all night on your computer won't help with that."

The younger teen shrugged his shoulders before saying, "I was bored and I got a message from an old friend, he somehow managed to get into an exchange student program and wanted to know the basics so he wouldn't embarrass himself."

Although knowing of Kurt's traveling childhood, Scott still didn't fully believe his story and only rolled his eyes before saying, "Sure, just get to class. It's your turn for Laura duty and the last time she got bored in Art class the school almost had a lecture on nude modeling."

"Wow, I didn't expect her to be so bold as to strip in the middle of class." Kurt said.

"She is but it wasn't her that was the subject," sensing Kurt's questioning gaze, Scott continued, "She pantsed the art teacher, but it certainly inspired her students. I think some gallery downtown still has a sketch of Ms. Willmore's thong." Although shocked at his friend's actions, Kurt couldn't keep himself from laughing as he made his way down the hall.

* * *

It was only the third class of the day when the school's intercom came to life, "Would Kurt Wagner please report to the Principal's office, would Kurt Wagner please report to the Principal's office." The boy in question signed before getting out of his seat, ignoring the snickering of his classmates. After a short walk to the front office, Kurt caught the secretary's eye, who motioned for the boy to head into the office. Expecting the worse, Kurt opened the door to find the woman doing some paperwork on her desk, the blinds behind her closed. Looking up, Principal Darkhölme asked, "Please close the door Mr. Wagner."

"Yes ma'am." Turning around briefly to complete his task, the boy was slightly surprised to see his mother in her natural form when he turned back.

" _Have a seat,_ " Raven said in German as she motioned to one of the chairs in front of her desk.

" _I take it this isn't about my attendance?"_ Kurt questioned.

Smiling slightly at her son's joke, Raven began, " _Ms. Grey was absent today, something very uncharacteristic._ "

" _So this is about the mission?_ "Kurt questioned, " _You think the Professor got a hit on Cerebro and took Jean scouting with him?_ "

" _I don't think, I know_." Raven proved her point by turning her computer monitor around, showing all the known information on Kitty Pryde. " _Charles thinks Jean is the most likely to connect to the girl, and he's probably right._ "

" _So the Professor gets another student, how does that impact our goal?"_ Kurt questioned his mother, not really seeing the point in the conversation.

Hitting a few keys, Raven continued by saying, " _Because she's not the only one whose mutation recently activated._ " Now displayed on screen was a teenage boy with chin-length brown hair wearing a black tee shirt underneath a brown sleeveless jacket, also of importance was that the picture displayed was a mugshot. " _Lance Alvers, a foster kid who has been shuffled from one home to the next. Power over seismic activity, and with his history a perfect candidate for Eric's Brotherhood. While the man is there for Lance, he'll most likely try to recruit Kitty, we can't allow the Brotherhood to grow any more than it already has._ "

" _Any more?"_ Kurt questioned his mother.

Nodding her head, Raven said, " _Your one classmate, Todd Tolansky has been exceptionally well behaved, almost like he was told to behave by someone he respects, or fears._ "

Putting all the information his mother had told him together, Kurt began to see the bigger picture. " _Okay then, when am I leaving and where am I going?_ "

Smiling at her son, though saddened he had to work around Charles' back, Raven said, " _You'll leave right now, I'll phone the Institute saying you got a minor case of food poisoning due to a bad breakfast burger and had to go to the hospital. As for where, I believe the circus preformed a few times in Northbroke._ "

" _Alright then, have a good day mother, I'll see you tomorrow._ " With that Kurt grabbed his backpack before teleporting away. After waving away the small amount of smoke, Raven shifted her form back to her Darkhölme persona and opened her blinds before her secretary buzzed her office.

"Yes?" the Principal asked.

"Ms. Laura Howlett his here. The gym coach sent her as she stole the cheerleaders' shirts and bras while they were in the showers and asked, and I quote, 'why should they be concerned, Barbies don't have nipples."

Sighing and rubber her temples, Darkhölme reluctantly said, "Send her in."

* * *

Kitty considered herself lucky that she'd had a semi-normal day so far. After last night her parents wanted her to stay home for the day, but the teen knew her dad would want everything swept under the rug and she'd just go crazy up in her room. Thankfully her mother was more understanding and allowed her to sneak out the front door. She may have missed the bus, but the ride to school on her moped let her clear her head, which probably helped her keep everything in control during the morning, now all she had was lunch, Gym, then math and she could go home. Still, she couldn't help but feel like her life was about to spiral out of control.

As Kitty stood in front of her locker to put her books away, she was unaware of two girls staring at her at the other end of the hall.

"Look Reilly, it's little Miss Perfect." the Blonde, Sydney, told her friend.

"Probably worried about Gym, the only class she's not acing." Reilly, a brunette, replied.

Sydney grew an evil grin as she said, "Why don't we help her skip so she doesn't have to worry so much?"

Reilly adopted a mock-thinking pose as she said, "Unfortunately she'd miss lunch," Reilly then adopted a grin of her own as she said, "but what are _friends_ for?"

Their plan made, the duo silently made their way through the thinning crowd and took position behind Kitty. As if doing a well practice maneuver, Sydney pushed Kitty into her locker while Reilly slammed the door shut and engaged the lock before the teen could react. "World closing in on ya Kitty?" Sydney couldn't resist one last taunt as she and her friend walked away, laughing at their work.

"Hey! Let me out you jerks!" Kitty yelled as she banged on the locker door. "Will someone let me out!" Unfortunately for Kitty the hallway was deserted, almost.

Sticking his head out of the boy's restroom to make sure the coast was clear, Lance Alvers strutted out into the hallway, whistling with his eyes closed as he spray painted an red line along the lockers. Perhaps if he had his eyes open he would have avoided the collision.

"Hey, watch where you're going buddy!" At 6 foot 2, Lance was use to using his size to intimidate, but the black haired teen in the black shirt standing in front of him easily looked down on Lance at 6 foot 6. Upon seeing the can of spray paint in Lance's hand, the giant said, "Perhaps you should be the one watching out, maybe not vandalizing the school either."

Ordinarily, Lance wouldn't take lip from anyone, but he'd never seen this guy before and was thus an unknown, never something good in a fight. "Yeah, whatever." Lance replied as he walked past the stranger, making sure to shove him with his shoulder.

The giant only watched Lance walk out of the hallway before getting back to his task, trying to figure out how to read the school map the front office had provided. As the giant began to wonder down the hall, he heard banging coming from inside one of the lockers. Quickly locating the source of the noise. With a quick, "hang on," the teen gripped the lock before pulling it off with pure strength.

Kitty was unprepared for the sudden rescue. She had given up hope of someone finding her and was preparing to try and phase through the locker door when the giant teen opened the locker, resulting in Kitty phasing through him. The teen seemed to be shocked for half a second before he started collecting the books that had fallen out of Kitty's locker. Kitty was unaware of this and started saying, "I don't know what you think you saw but please don't tell…" Only to be cut off when she felt the stranger's hand on her shoulder.

With a smile the other teen handed the girl her books, "It is what you make of it, a gift or a curse." He then nodded his head toward Kitty's locker, "Sorry about you're locker."

"It's fine, I don't keep anything important in there." Kitty was quick to displace any guilt the kind stranger had. "I'm Kitty Pryde, and you are?"

"Piotr Rasputin," seeing the look Kitty gave him at the foreign name, the boy continued saying, "I'm the new exchange student, I was told to meet with the councilor in their office to help get settled in but I can't seem to find it."

"You're actually pretty close," Kitty then pointed the way Piotr had come and said, "Just head back down there and take a right and it'll be the third door on the left."

The giant nodded before saying, "Thank you Kitty" and heading off.

Despite herself, Kitty smiled as she walked toward the cafeteria, maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

Both Kitty and Piotr were unaware that Lance hadn't completely left the hallway. Leaning around the corner, the boy had seen the entire event, from Piotr ripping the lock off, to Kitty falling _through_ the other teen. "Well this will certainly come in handy." the delinquent told himself.

* * *

Bayville

Logan was doing one of his favorite activities when he had the house to himself, washing his old Harley. He had the bike since serving in World War II. It had been a pain to track down after his tour in the Pacific, but he was always glad he took the time to get it back. There were many memories within the bike, paying his respects to past comrades, his time serving with Steve, even the rendezvous with the occasional village girl brave enough to go for a ride.

When the Institute was quite like this, he could almost relive all the memoires, possibly some from before he got the bike. As he was enjoying himself, a stray scent crept its way up Logan's nose. Immediately recognizing it, but hoping he was wrong, the man climbed up to the Mansion's roof to get a better scent. Just as he was taking a deep breath, Logan heard the roar of a custom chopper on one of the roads in the area. "Sabertooth." Logan said to himself. After quickly putting on his gear, Wolverine climbed on his bike and sped down the Mansion's driveway.

Scott was walking with Laura up the driveway of the mansion. Due to the girl's incident during Gym, she'd been sent home early, while Scott's classes had been cancelled since the coach had to fill out a large amount of paperwork. "We seriously need to put you on a leash sometimes. Whose turn was it to watch you anyway?" Scott asked.

Laura didn't really seem to care that much about her punishment, ideally replying, "Jean's. Anyway what's the matter, I'm just trying to have a good time in life. Whether that means a good laugh or a good fight I'm up for it."

Scott only shook his head and was about to respond when Wolverine came speeding past the pair. "Well he seems angrier than usual." Scott commented.

"We're going to follow him?" Laura asked.

"Yep." Scott replied.

"Are we taking me bike?" Laura asked, hopeful for the chance to see what her bike could really do.

"After what you pulled today you'll be lucky if your dad doesn't take away your keys. Come on," Scott said as he started rushing off toward the garage, "we'll take my car."

* * *

Not wanting to deal with anything else Reilly and Sydney might have in mind, Kitty decided to eat her lunch outside. Luckily her school had constructed a walkway and eating area on the cafeteria's roof some years ago. The area was usually in disuse as few wanted to climb the stairs before eating, but Kitty didn't mind as it'd give her some time alone with her thoughts. However to her surprise Kitty wasn't eating alone as a boy around her age with blue hair sat precariously on the guard rail, one leg dangling over the edge.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, you might fall." Kitty surprised herself when she spoke up.

The other teen only turned his head and smiled at the girl before saying, "I think I'll be alright, besides I've been up higher than this during my circus days."

"You were in the circus?" Kitty asked, her voice full of disbelief.

"Yes, until recently. But enough about me," the boy said, "Kitty, would you please tell me what happened last night?"

"Nothing happened last night, and how do you know my name?" the girl demanded.

The boy only shrugged his shoulders before saying, "I have my ways."

"And I'm leaving." Kitty turned on her heel and was about to walk back down the stairs but was stopped by what the teen said next.

"It's scary, isn't it? The first time you find out that you can do something no one else can." Kitty stopped and turned back at the other teen, any playfulness in his voice was now gone. "At the very least you still look normal."

"You seem pretty normal to me." Kitty stated.

The teen laughed before saying, "Trust me, I can be rather frightening when I want to be." The teen then stood up, still balanced on the guardrail, and said, "Just remember, it's okay to be afraid but that shouldn't stop you from accepting help." The teen than leaped off the guardrail and walked past Kitty into the crowd.

* * *

As he walked away from the girl, Kurt pulled out his cellphone. Finding the contact he wanted, Kurt began texting.

'Greetings comrade! How is America treating you?'

It didn't take long for Kurt to get a reply, 'It has been kind so far, although the maps can be confusing. What can I do you for comrade?'

'A small favor,' Kurt quickly texted, 'there's a girl named Kitty Pryde at your school. She's like us but is unsure of herself, could you make sure she stays alright?'

Kurt didn't expect such a fast reply, 'Of course comrade. I've already met her, a nice young woman just afraid of what's happening, must be first generation.'

Kurt had to laugh a little at his friend's inside joke, 'Not all of us are lucky enough to be G3 like you comrade.'

With that the short conversation came to a close. Kurt would still hang around, just to make sure Kitty didn't present the change to get influenced by _him_ , but for now it appeared his work was done, he just wondered who would convince Kitty to go to the Institute first, Jean or Piotr.

* * *

For once Kitty was able to get to the field before most of her Gym class, meaning she'd have some time to stretch before the coach assigned her activities. While waiting on the bleachers, she noted the red head she hadn't seen before, the older teen looked like she was looking for someone. Kitty also witnessed just how strong Piotr was. The teen easily picked up a shot put before throwing it like a baseball, the heavy metal ball landing barely inside the marked area.

Finally the coach called Kitty's name, "Pryde, you're first on the long jump."

Getting ready, Kitty began running along the path towards the sand pit, only to trip on a rock. Somehow the girl was able to keep her footing until she got to the loose sand, at which point she fell to her knees, at which Reilly and Sydney snickered at her.

"Take notes Pryde, this is how athletes do it." Reilly declared as she got ready for her chance. The girl's form was perfect and it looked as if Reilly would beat her own record when something unexpected happened, the sand beneath her literally rose up and flipped her back to the starting line before burying her. While everyone laughed at Reilly, Kitty traced the small bump in the grass back to the school's office. Standing on the roof, she spied Lance and his two cronies, the leader of the trio waving at her and giving her a knowing smile.

Knowing somehow the boy knew her secret Kitty started backing away, only to bump into the red head. After sharing a brief look with the older teenager, Kitty turned and ran away. She didn't have a sense of direction, only that she felt like she couldn't stay there. Eventually running out of breath, Kitty found herself in the school's auditorium where the drama department was setting up for some play. Feeling frustrated, she kicked one of the chairs off stage. Her small bout of anger finished, the girl tried to lean on the table to collect her thoughts, only to phase through it. Quickly collecting herself, Kitty placed her hand on the table and to her relief everything remained solid. After taking a few breaths, Kitty decided to try to see if she could phase through the table when a voice stopped her.

"Kitty?" the red head asked as she walked toward the stage. "Are you alright?"

"Who are you?" Kitty asked as she backed away until her back hit one of the prop walls, "A friend of Reilly's from out of town? You seem the type."

"I'm not one of Reilly's friends, but I'd like to be yours." The red head stated. She then leaned against the table before saying, "My name's Jean, and I know what's going on."

"You don't know anything!" Kitty quickly yelled, "You seem nice, and so does Piotr, but not you, or him, or that creepy guy out there know anything about what's going on."

"Who Lance?" Jean questioned, "Forget about him and let's focus on you, and your new gift."

"I don't have a gift, only a curse." Kitty mumbled.

"Only if you let it be," Jean was quick to reply before adding, "I'd like to help you, I know some people…"

"Look I didn't want any of this!" Kitty yelled before continuing in a calmer voice, "It's hard enough just being normal you know? I just want to get through school, meet a nice guy, and make my parents happy, and my 'gift' is just making everything more complicated."

"Kitty…" Jean began before she realized she couldn't come up with a counter point to the girls claim. Thinking on her feet, the older teen, "Okay watch me." before using her telekinetic powers lift the bowl of fake fruit off the table and suspend the prop in front of the other girl.

Shocked at what she was seeing, Kitty quickly asked, "How, how did you do that?"

"Same as you," Jean said as she stood up and slowly walked toward Kitty, "one day I woke up and could do things no one else could do. Trust me I hated it at first, but some people who could help found me and the rest is history."

Kitty wanted to believe the girl in front of her, that while she was different she was still normal, that she could still be accepted, but there was still a nagging doubt in her mind. "No, I don't believe you, this is a trick."

"No, I know you believe me," Jean said, "my other gift allows me to read your thoughts."

If there was any chance Kitty was going to listen to Jean before, it was gone now. "What! No, stay out of my head and stay away from me!" Kitty declared before running backstage, hoping to find another exit.

Jean just watched the girl run away, knowing that while she could easily find Kitty if she needed to but right now she'd only do more harm than good. Shaking her head, Jean could only hope that Scott was having a better day.

* * *

Scott had been driving his car throughout the city for the past few hours trying to follow Logan. He'd lost sight of the man a few times, but luckily Laura was able to hear her father's distinctive motorcycle motor. As Scott stopped the car on the side of the road, he and Laura looked up to see Wolverine standing on the roof of a parking garage. "What do you think pa is doing?" Laura asked.

The pair got their answer as the man unsheathed his claws before quickly side stepping an incoming motorcycle and chopping of the front tire. Scott was frozen as he saw the hunk of metal crash through the concrete barrier and head straight for his car, luckily Laura was able to take action and quickly jammed her foot down on Scott's own, thereby pushing down on the accelerator and getting the car, and the pair, out of the broken bike's drop zone.

"Come on!" Laura yelled as she grabbed a duffel back containing her X-gear, "Pa might need our help."

"Yeah, got it," Scott said as he grabbed his own gear.

The pair quickly found some unoccupied port-o-potties to change into. Scott emerged wearing his uniform with the custom large yellow X on his torso and his special visor while Laura had modified hers to be sleeveless, have combat boots, and a red X on her belt. After regrouping, the pair quickly ran into the parking garage and up several floors before they found Wolverine battling against a large man with long dirty blond hair and a torn trench coat. As the larger man pinned Wolverine to a pillar with one of the cars, the teens heard him mutter, "Our destiny, one shale fall by the other's hand, we can't change that."

They were also able to hear Wolverine mutter, "I didn't you went of that philosophy bullshit." Cyclops and X-23 nodded at each other, briefly making a plan before putting it into action.

"Hey hairball!" Cyclops called out to gain the larger man's attention, "I've got your destiny right here!" he yelled before releasing an optic blast straight into the man's chest, knocking him backwards into the side of a van. Laura wasn't idle was this occurred, quickly charging forward as she extended her hand claws, then launching herself and swiping at her father's opponent. She was undeterred when the man grabbed her wrists, instead she extended her foot claws and sunk them into the man's side.

The man gave a cry of pain before throwing X-23 away from him. As she skidded across the pavement, the girl saw the man's wounds healing themselves as he stalked forward. The man was about to pounce on X-23 before her father rushed him from the side, tackling the man into an open elevator. After a brief scuffle the man kicked Wolverine out of the elevator as the doors closed. As Wolverine slashed the doors apart, he saw the elevator car descending as the man called out, "A taste of things to come Wolverine!"

"Ha," X-23 laughed as she and Cyclops walked forward, "we showed him. Man that was a good fight."

While Cyclops didn't expect Wolverine to be pleased with the pair, he was unprepared for the glare the man gave the teens, "I don't fight your battles, so don't fight mine." After retracting his claws, Wolverine pointed to X-23, "Especially you." He added before walking away.

X-23 pouted as her father walked up to retrieve his bike. "He never lets me have any fun."

Cyclops smiled slightly as he took the chance to ruffle the younger girl's hair, "Nah, he's just looking out for you. Come on, let's had back to the Institute and I'll let you take my Danger Room time." The girl seemed to cheer up at the prospect of the semi-controlled violence.

* * *

After running from Jean and quickly changing out of her gym clothes, Kitty just wanted to be away from everyone. She may have ended up skipping math, but sitting in a quiet corner of the library seemed to be a good trade at the moment. Her isolation ended after a few minutes when she heard the chair next to her scrap on the floor before Piotr sat himself down. Groaning slightly as she put her head on the table, the girl said, "Look I'm thankful for the help this afternoon, but if you're here with that Jean girl you can forget about it."

The large teen had a look of confusion on his face before asking, "Who is Jean? I just wanted to make sure you are okay."

"I'm fine I guess, all things considered." Kitty then raised her head enough so that she could look at Piotr and asked, "How do you know about all of this anyway? You seem perfectly normal to me."

The library was silent for a few moments until Piotr took a deep breath and his eyes gained a far off look. "My grandfather was 17 when he was drafted into the Red Army and stationed in Stalingrad. He was there when the Germans surrounded the city. He fought for months and watched many of his friends die. When he was captured by a German patrol that somehow made it into the city he thought he was next, but his gift awoke. He fought back, then used his gift to defend others and provide safety for as many as he could until the Germans started retreating. He followed them all the way to Berlin" Piotr paused to make sure he still had Kitty's attention before continuing, "After the war my grandfather was able to return to what was left of his home village. He helped rebuild, fell in love and eventually had my father. It wasn't an ideal life but it was one he was happy with, even when my father's gift awoke, luckily my grandfather was able to explain everything to him and they were able to live somewhat comfortably, until troops from the Red Army came to secure more rations and troops. Knowing the crops were barely enough to feed the village and what life in the army was like, my grandfather lead the village against the army, continuing to fight against troops until the collapse of communism, my father always by his side."

"Woah," was all Kitty could say after hearing that story. Once she was able to collect her thoughts, she asked, "So how come you're here instead of your village? Do you have your father's and grandfather's gift?"

Piotr smiled before saying, "I was born shortly after the collapse. My parents believed they were too accustomed to life as simple farmers and wanted their children to live for something more, so they took each chance available for me to travel and learn. As for the gift, yes I have it and I'm sure my younger sister will awaken it in a few years. Feeling better now?"

Despite herself, Kitty smiled, "Yeah, I am. Thanks." She then stood up and stretched before saying, "I should probably see about catching the back half of math, I can just say I overexerted myself in Gym and was in the Nurse's office. Thanks again Piotr."

The teen just leaned back in his chair as he said, "Anytime comrade, anytime."

Kitty's good mood continued to last as she collected her books from her broken locker. Her mood lasted until she heard someone calling her name. Turning around, she saw Lance walking forward. "Hey, my name's Lance. We should really talk."

"That seems to be what everyone wants to do, but I'm not interested." Kitty stated as she slammed her locker shut and began walking away.

"You feel sick inside every time you think about it." Lance started as he tried to get the girl to listen to him. "You want it to go away, but it won't. Your parents…"

Kitty quickly cut him off. "My parents may not understand, but then again I don't either." Kitty continued to glare at the boy as she continued, not giving Lance a chance to talk back. "I don't feel sick as much as unsure. And yeah, maybe I'd like it to go away, but as I said you're not the first person who wanted to talk to me, and they seem to be pretty well adjusted with everything so I guess I can just deal." She then turned to walk away, only to feel a hand roughly grip her shoulder.

"I wanted to be your friend, I really did, but now I see that's not going to happen." Lance said as he glared at the shorter girl, "So here's the deal, you're going to help with something or else I'll let the whole school in on your secret. Meet me by the office after the final bell, or else you can kiss your normal life goodbye."

Kitty could only stare dumbfounded as Lance stalked away, unsure what to do.

* * *

Kitty questioned if she was doing the right thing as she started walking towards the office after school. She saw Lance leaning against the wall waiting for her. "I'm here, so what do you want?"

Lance smirked as he walked towards the girl. "Simple, I need to acquire some information so you're going to walk through the wall and unlock the door for me."

Although she knew it was wrong, Kitty still nodded, just wanting to get this thing over with. "I don't know how to fully control it."

"That's easy," Lance said, "you just have to accept that you're different. Embrace it, own it, make it your own."

To Kitty it just sounded a lot like something from a second rate self-help book. None the less, walked towards the wall, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and kept walking forward. To her mild surprise, she walked completely through the wall and into the office. She had a small moment to reflect on her accomplishment before she heard a knocking of the door. After unlocking it and allowing Lance to walk into the office and quickly take a place in front of a computer. "Dang, password protected, this will take awhile."

"Whatever, I'm done here. See ya." Kitty said as she started to walk away, only to once more be stopped by Lance.

"Oh no Kitty cat," the girl groaned at the nick name, "you're the only one who knows that I'm in here and I don't feel like getting caught. So you're going to wait right here until I'm done."

Kitty only groaned more, but complied with Lance's demands, hoping the whole ordeal would be over soon.

* * *

"Where is she?" Mr. Pryde demanded as he ran from his car towards Charles and Jean, who had changed into her X-gear.

"I don't know," Jean confessed, "I was following her but I lost sight of her in the crowd. When I turned the corner Kitty was gone."

This only caused Kitty's parents to panic even more and the pair was about to run into the school looking for their daughter, until someone spoke up.

"Excuse me," Piotr said as he walked toward the group, "are you looking for Kitty?"

"Who are you?" Mr. Prdye quickly demanded before adding, "How do you know my daughter and where is she?"

Most people would be overwhelmed by so many questions, but Piotr kept calm, "I'm Piotr, she is a friend, and I saw her with Lance over by the office."

"Oh no," Mrs. Pryde quickly put everything together, "she's breaking into the office. Why would she do this, she's never done anything like this before."

"Go with them Jean," Charles said as the group started running towards the office, "I'll catch up."

As she followed the Professor's orders, Jean noticed that Piotr was easily keeping pace with the group. "You don't have to come with us, it can be dangerous." Jean informed the younger but taller teen.

Piotr shook his head before saying, "She is a friend, I don't abandon friends or family."

* * *

"Hah ha!" Lance yelled as he cracked the password and put the test answers onto his USB. "Test answers present and accounted for."

"Great," Kitty deadpanned, "we can leave now."

"Not so fast," Lance smirked, "I think some grades need some readjusting."

"What? No, that's not what I agreed to."

"What's it matter?" Lance asked, "You already helped in getting the answers, that's going to change people's grades so why not expedite the process?"

"You now what?" Kitty began, "I don't care if you tell anyone, it's not like they'll believe you anyway, I'm out of here."

"I don't think so." Lance declared as he grabbed Kitty's arm. The girl struggled to get out of the boy's grip until they heard a new voice.

"Let my daughter go!" Mr. Pryde demanded as he ran forward.

"I don't think so pops, that's far enough." Lance said as he held his free hand forward, his eyes rolling back into his head. Everyone felt the ground around them tremble. Mr. Pryde lost his footing and feel hard to the floor, and could only watch as a bookcase began to fall towards him. Luckily Piotr was able to quickly reach out, catch the furniture, and push it away before helping the man to his feet.

"Forget this, we're out of here!" Lance yelled as he used his powers to tear a hole in the wall and dragged Kitty behind him.

"Kitty please." her mother pleaded, "We can get through this together, just come back." Kitty expected her mother to speak up, but was shocked at what her father said.

"Kitty, I'm sorry." Mr. Pryde began, "I wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong, but I'm not perfect. I'm still learning, just like you are."

After hearing that, Kitty increased her struggles as Lance continued to drag her away. "Let go of me!" the girl demanded as she was forced into the hallway.

"I don't think so," Lance replied, "I'm bringing this entire place down, and you're coming with me!"

"No, I'm not!" Kitty declared as she used her powers to phase her arm through Lance's hand before she started running back towards the office.

"Fine, be like that!" Lance declared as he increased the seismic activity, causing huge chunks of the ceiling to come down.

* * *

Back in the office, Jean was using her powers to keep the large chunks of concrete from falling on herself, the Prydes, or Piotr. As she strained her mind, she felt the Professor contact her, 'Jean, use your powers!'

'I'm trying Professor!' Jean mentally yelled back, 'It's just too much.'

'I'll help, just clear your mind.'

As Jean refocused on keeping the ceiling from collapsing on the group, Mr. and Mrs. Pryde were happy to see Kitty running back into the office. The happiness was short lived as the ceiling above the girl began to loosen. Seeing what was about to happen, Piotr broke away from the group, quickly running towards his friend before pushing her towards her parents and Jean's protection seconds before the concrete fell on him.

"Piotr!" Kitty yelled as she saw her new friend crushed. While she released a few tears, her parents quickly enveloped her in a hug while Jean spoke up.

"I know you're sad about your friend, but if we don't get out of here soon we're going to end up the same way."

Nodding with determination, Kitty instructed the group, "Okay, everyone hang onto me and I'll walk us out."

* * *

Charles waited in front of the destroyed school as he looked for any signs of life. Finally after what seemed like an eternity after the last aftershock, the Prydes and Jean phased through the wall. After breathing a sigh of relief, the older man said, "I'm glad to see that you all managed to escape."

"Not all of us." Kitty stated forlornly as she looked back at the wall before receiving the shock of her life. What appeared to be a metal fist burst through the wall before it pulled back slightly, tearing down a large section of the remaining structure, revealing a nearly 7 foot tall man seemingly made out of metal wearing a shredded black shirt. Hesitantly Kitty asked, "Piotr?"

"I told you before," the boy said as the metal seemed to recede back into his body, "a gift or a curse, it is what you make of it."

"Yes Kitty, it is a gift," Charles added, "and you've used it well."

Kitty smiled before turning around to huge her parents as she said, "Mom, Dad, I'm so sorry about everything. These people, they want to help me, I trust them."

"I know sweetie, and so do I." Mr. Pryde said as he took his daughter's hand. "Professor Xavier, I believe we have some things to discuss."

* * *

It had been about an hour since he'd caused the school to come down as Lance watched the people from the various fire trucks and police cruisers try to make sense of what happened.

"I don't get it," the boy talked to himself as he walked away, "I took down the place like I wanted to ever since I got these powers, so why do I feel so empty?"

"Maybe it's because you haven't reached your full potential?" Lance watched a man in a three-piece suit and white hair walked out from a small grove of trees in front of him.

"And you are?" the teen questioned.

The man smiled, "Your new instructor, and I have so much to teach you my young Avalanche."

* * *

As her parents continued to talk with the Professor and Jean, Kitty walked back out to the front porch where Piotr was watching the sun slowly set, a bag sitting by his feet. She'd gotten the basics about the new agreement, about her going to Bayville High in New York and figured her parents would tell her the smaller details later, but right now she had some questions for the metal man.

"Hey," Kitty began.

"Hey," Piotr replied.

"So, like, why did you push me out of the way when you knew I could phase through the concrete?" the girl asked.

"You just learned of your gift today, right?" Piotr asked, to which Kitty nodded, "When I first awoke my gift I couldn't control it well. I didn't know if you were the same of if you had better control, but I wasn't about to chance it."

"Thank you." Kitty replied with a smile before asking, "So what are you going to do now? I'm sure the Professor has enough room at the Institute for you as well."

Piotr had a small, sad smile on his face as he said, "Thank you Kitty, but Bayville is not my destination, not yet." The girl then noticed a taxi drive up towards the house. "It's time for me to go home. My parents could use the help with the harvest and I'm sure my little sister misses me, and I'm not one to let my family down." The giant of a teen then placed a hand on Kitty's shoulder and looked her in the eyes before saying, "Until we meet again Kitty Pryde." then shocked the girl as he quickly leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before grabbing his bag and walking to the taxi.

Kitty watched as the car pulled away until her mother called her inside to have a quick dinner before packing her suitcases.

* * *

Kitty sat nervously as she waited for Principle Darkhölme to call her into her office. After the quick ride back to Bayville on the military grade jet, something Kitty never thought would happen in her life, the girl was able to meet most of her new housemates that night, except for Kurt since he was still in the hospital because of food poisoning. She got to learn more about everyone at breakfast, except for Kurt who arrived back at the mansion late the previous night and had elected to sleep in.

So far she liked her new house and friends. As she thought back at her old school, Jean was Miss Popular and a star athlete, although she was a lot more down to earth than Reilly ever was. Scott was a major boy scout and followed every rule, but he made sure to watch out for those around him. Laura seemed a little wild but Wanda seemed to be able to keep her from doing anything too drastic. So far the only downside to her school was that somehow Lance had been transferred here as well, she still felt her skin crawl from the leer he gave her as he exited the principal's office.

Finally Kitty heard the woman call her into the office. After quickly glancing at Kitty's files, the woman stated, "Another one of Xavier's special students are we?" Principal Darkhölme didn't wait for an answer as she gave the girl a few papers, "Here is your schedule, lunch menu, and school hand book. Ordinarily I'd have a much more hands on introduction but you and that Lance boy have given me quite a bit of paperwork to file." The woman then smiled slightly as she said, "Luckily we had a student volunteer to show you around the school." The woman then keyed her intercom and said, "Please send Mr. Wagner in, thank you."

Kitty turned as the doors to the office opened and was surprised to see the boy she'd talked to during lunch on her last day at her old school. She would have said something if the boy hadn't quickly motioned for her not to mention anything. She then turned her attention back to Principal Darkhölme as the woman said, "Kitty Pryde, meet Kurt Wagner. He'll be showing you around the school. Now please leave my office, I have important matters to attend to."

As Kitty followed Kurt out the office, she couldn't help but be surprised as the boy who helped her yesterday had been her last housemate that she had yet to meet. As the two walked into the empty hallway, Kitty asked, "So how did you know I needed help the other day?"

Kurt was quick to reply, "My mother informed me." Seeing the question wasn't completely answered, he elaborated by saying, "She has her ways of knowing. You already know from Lance that not everyone one like use, but there was someone far worse than him was near your high school yesterday. If you had doubted yourself you could have fallen under his influence, which would have only ended up hurting those you care about."

"Thanks for that." Kitty said before looking down at her feet, feeling guilty about what she'd have to say next. "Last night I went through some photos my family took when a circus went through town a few years back. There was this one of a kid that wore this costume while he was on the high wire, that was you wasn't it?" Seeing Kurt nod, Kitty continued the question, "That wasn't a costume, was it?" When the boy shook his head, Kitty felt even guiltier. "I'm sorry for making such a big deal about yesterday when…"

She didn't get to finish her apology as Kurt interrupted her, "Don't worry about it, I've looked like that all my life and I've learned to deal with it." Seeing how Kitty still felt guilty, Kurt fished a form out of his backpack before handing it to the girl. "If you really feel like you need to make it up to me, then join my fencing club, I need at least two more people to sign up before Darkhölme will give me funding." After seeing the girl accept the form, Kurt also dug into his pocket before pulling out a piece of folded paper. "You also might want this."

Kitty quickly unfolded the paper, revealing an email address and a street address that looked to be half written in a foreign language. "What is this?"

"That's Piotr's email and street address." Kurt nonchalantly informed the girl, "I figured you'd want to stay in touch." Kitty only nodded her thanks as the pair continued the tour. Despite everything that happened yesterday, Kitty had a feeling she was going to like it here.

* * *

 **And that's another chapter done at 17 pages.**

 **Not much to say this time around. Finals are done for me, and sense I don't have any summer classes this semester that should mean a lot of free time to write updates. That would be the ideal scenario, but I'm going to be spending some time playing my backlog of video games, probably getting a few more, and finding a summer job, but I'll write when I have the chance.**

 **Also I'm going to be closing the poll at the end of the day (4/30/16) so if you want to cast a last minute vote better do it now. I'm going to update** _ **A New Realm**_ **and then get started on updating the poll winners.**

 **So, with that update done, there's a few more questions added to the mix, such as…**

 **Will Piotr show up in the story again?**

 **Will Kurt get enough people for his fencing club?**

 **Who will be the next person to join the X-Men or Brotherhood?**

 **Find out the answers to all these questions and more in future chapters of** _ **One Small Change**_ **.**

 **Until then, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."**


	5. An Eventful Weekend

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with a new chapter of** _ **One Small Change**_ **!**

 **Not really anything to say for this chapter, except it is long overdue and maybe a little short. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I am only a humble fan of the show and not making a profit from this story.**

* * *

In a small town in Mississippi, a teenage girl looked out at the bayou from the deck of a bar. She didn't mind being alone, in fact she preferred it if her clothing was anything to go by, a black halter top under a thin see-through long sleeve top along with black gloves, a black mini skirt and black legs and heavy boots. To complete the look she wore a smidge of purple eyeshadow and lipstick. If nothing else made the girl unique, her long brown hair did with the single streak of white it had, a side effect of the one time she unintentionally used her powers.

As the teen looked out into the swamp contemplating what her adoptive mother and brother were doing, she barely heard two voices having a friendly argument. Figuring they would eventually go away, she was surprised when heard one of them say, "This ends now" before a quick set of heavy footprints, and then silence. Knowing someone was behind her, the teen turned around to see the Cody, the blond running back that had been staring at her between classes for the last week. As the football player continued his silence, the girl asked, "Can I help you?"

"Um…dance….I mean would you like to….with me that is?" Cody barely managed to stutter out.

Ordinarily the girl would gently deny the request, but seeing the hopeful look in the guy's eyes she smiled and said, "Alright, why not? What's the harm in one dance?"

* * *

In a small house in the suburbs Irene Adler, known as Destiny to a select few, sat in the living room while waiting for her foster daughter to return home. As she patiently listened to the clock ticking, the blind woman suddenly had a vision the girl falling, of somebody trying to help her up only to grab her exposed arm and suddenly collapse. As the images faded back into the darkness, Irene quickly slowed her breathing before reaching out for her cellphone, she needed to make an important call.

* * *

Principal Darkhölme sat in her office as she worked late into the night finishing up the excess paperwork Laura's gym incident had caused. Just as she was about to call it a night, the woman's personal cellphone rang. Seeing the caller ID, the woman answered by saying, "You're about a month early with the report. What's happened?"

"Your daughter's powers have fully activated, soon she'll gain _his_ attention, I assume you'll be down here to collect the girl yourself?" Irene questioned.

"No," Raven responded, "I trust Charles, and her brother will be there to help her."

"You trust that man too much," Irene fired back, "if you aren't who you are I'd just call Magnus and be done with this entire charade."

"And he'd do what? Turn the girl into some weapon to help spread genocide?" Raven challenged. "No, it's better that Anna Marie goes with Charles and learns control so she can live a normal life like we've tried to."

"And yet you still have your children involved in your own schemes, goodbye Mystique."

Yet before the blind woman could hang up the phone, Raven called out, "Destiny wait," when the phone stayed silent the woman continued, "this maybe the last time that I'm able to talk to you on some-what friendly terms, you know what I'm going to ask."

"And I've told you that you should just forget the _man_." The woman replied with venom and was about to hang up again had not the shape shifter once more pleaded.

"Please, if I meant anything to you in the past, please tell me if there's a chance!"

The line was silent for a few moments, yet it felt like an eternity for the woman on one end. Finally she got her answer, "I see many different paths that may occur, many are filled with heartache and sadness. However there is a very small chance that you may find the one path that leads to happiness, but be warned that you, your children, and that man will face incredible hardships."

Despite the warning, Raven still felt her eyes water with happiness as she said, "Thank you, Destiny."

"Goodbye Raven." The other woman said, any hint of emotion gone from her voice.

When the phone went dead, Raven started typing a text to her son, 'Be prepared, you'll soon be joined by another friend.' Now all she could do is sit back and wait, hoping she made the right choices.

* * *

The girl, Anna Marie, was actually having a fun time within the bar. Due to being an all ages night, the dance floor was crammed with 18 year olds, some who managed to trick the bartender into giving them something stronger than soda. While not necessarily her style, she tried coping the dance moves of the girls around her, to the great enjoyment of Cody. As the two were still somewhat awkward about the whole situation, they danced a fair distance apart, something the football player's friend could let happen. One well meaning shove later and Cody and Anna Marie fell to the floor.

"Sorry about that," Cody said as he stood up before reaching down, "let me help you up." With that he grabbed the other teen's arm, however the sleeve of Anna Marie's top had rolled up her arm, exposing her forearm. As Cody made contact with the skin, he suddenly gasped before doubling over and falling on his back, the same happening to Anna Marie. However while Cody was knocked out on the floor, the girl managed to get to her feet while holding her aching head, a series of memories she'd never experienced flashing before her eyes. Ideally she became aware of the entire bar surrounding Cody and sensing the situation was about to turn, she tired slipping away. However Cody's friend saw this happen and before Anna Marie could escape, he'd blocked the door with his body. Using one of the stolen memories, the girl charged forward and stiff armed the football player out of the doorway before continuing to run away towards what she hoped was her home.

* * *

Meanwhile in the X-Mansion, an intruder dressed in a form fitting black suit was currently climbing through the air ducts. As the intruder pulled the grate back, they dropped down into the attic, however they were not alone. "Impressive," Storm said from the shadows, "you got past the automated system through the air ducts, but you won't get past me!" Suddenly hurricane force windows blow the windows open, but the intruder had already climbed back into the air system.

"Testing me?" Storm mused aloud, "Then perhaps I'll show you why they call me Strom!" Using her powers, the woman conjured a raincloud over the Institute, directing the entire downpour through a central point. In the rather spacious vents, the intruder paused as they tried to figure out the source of the noise behind them, only to be suddenly caught up in a massive wave. After a few minutes of franticly keeping their head above the water, they were eventually able to kick out an upcoming vent before being deposited in the Danger Room. From the control room Storm said, "You look a little flush, and the forecast isn't good." When the intruder tried to jump at their opponent, they were blown backwards by a sudden strong wind, literally freezing solid as they hit the floor, yet somehow they managed to stand up and break free of the ice.

"Now that's just cold hearted!" the intruder yelled.

"Then let me warm you up." Storm said as she pressed a button, causing a massive laser to fold out from the wall and fire at the intruder, who took action and jumped at the machine, popping out two claws from each hand and one from each foot in midair. Upon landing on the laser the intruder gritted their teeth before the laser exploded, throwing them across the room and shredding part of their outfit.

As the got to their feet, the person took off their mask, revealing it to be Laura. "Is that all you got?" the teen challenged.

"Oh I'll show you." Storm said as she was about to press another series of button, only to be stopped when Charles spoke up.

"Stop, that is sufficient, it's all we can afford right now. Laura please get up here, without causing any other damage."

"Hey, you knew what was going to happen when you asked me to help out." Laura said, as if it excused all the destructions she caused.

"Is it just me or did she enjoy this just a little _too_ much?" Scott asked from his position in the control room. He then turned to Storm and asked, "So what was the point of all of this anyway?"

"The point boy scout was for you to learn how to spot weaknesses in highly complex security systems." Logan said before turning his attention back to the monitors that had a playback of his daughter's breaking and entering. "The vents are pretty weak, we need to electrify them, or install poison gas sprayers."

"Logan." The professor said in a low voice.

"Fine, knock out gas." The older man said as he crossed his arms.

"So, like, is anyone else creeped out by this?" Kitty asked. Upon receiving dead stairs from Scott, Jean and Kurt, who was hanging from the ceiling with his tail and holding a bowl of popcorn in his feet, the girl realized the answer to her question, "Right, just me."

"Don't worry Kitty, it takes some time but you'll get use to it." Jean said, trying to comfort the girl.

"Yeah Kitty," Kurt said before teleporting appearing next to the girl, "we'll be right beside you the entire way," he then teleported to the other side and held the bowl out with his tail, "Popcorn?" Upon seeing that he'd unintentionally scared his friend, Kurt retracted his tail and apologized, "Whoops, sorry. I'll warn you before I teleport next time."

"It's fine guys, but it's been a long week. I think I'll just head to bed." With that she sunk through the floor and started walking to her room.

Before anything else could happen, Charles' phone went off. Looking at the screen for a moment, the man said, "It appears Cerebro has found a new mutant. Scott, since it's the weekend gather the full team."

"We have a mission, sweet!" Laura said as she walked into the control room, having replaced her outfit with her X gear.

"Not you, you're still grounded." Logan said as he started pushing his daughter out of the room.

As the pair left, Storm asked, "What is the situation Charles?"

"Unknown, the individual is confused yet calm, almost as if they've experienced this before. If that's true then why hasn't Cerebro detected them before?" The man pondered aloud.

"A question for later Charles," Logan said as he headed out the door, "for now we should concentrate on the mission before you know who catches wind of this."

* * *

Anna Marie continued to wonder the streets heading to what she hoped was her house. Her body on autopilot, the teen didn't realize where she was going until she stopped at a random front door, getting a memory of an older man welcoming her home.

'Well this ain't my home.' The mutant thought as she reached up onto the porch roof for the spare key. 'But maybe I can take a peek inside and try to sort out my memories better.'

* * *

After a rather eventful flight (do to Kurt's shenanigans), the X-Men arrived in Jackson, Mississippi before having to use the X-Van for the remainder of the journey. The drive itself was quick, but now most of the team were stuck waiting in the van outside a hospital.

"Is this really necessary?" Logan asked.

"Yes," Charles began, "our rogue element last had contact with this boy Cody, however he's been unconscious, his memory patterns elusive. I need someone on the inside." He then reached out with his mind and asked, 'Jean, are you ready?'

'Almost Professor,' the girl replied as she walked down the hall, disguised as a nurse. When she arrived at Cody's room, his friend asked if he was alright and if he'd get better. After assuring the boy Cody would be fine, Jean did a few basic medical tests before resting her hand on the unconscious boy's head. 'Ready Professor.' Using Jean's proximity to help focus the memories, the more powerful telekinetic quickly searched through the boy's head, finding all that he needed.

'Thank you Jean, you can come back to the van.'

After Jean quickly slipped out of the room, she made her way to the back exit where Cyclops was waiting for her. "You got everything we need?"

"The Professor said he did." Jean said as she stripped off the nurse uniform, he X-gear underneath. As she pulled up her hood, she commented, "I still don't like sneaking around like this. We're doing good, so why should we have to hide?"

"I know, I don't like it either, but as the Professor says, the world isn't ready for us." Cyclops quickly responded.

As the two made their way to their team, Jean asked, "Do you ever think that maybe the Professor is wrong?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Cyclops said, "I just hope my kids won't have to live in fear."

Any conversation after that ceased as the pair made it back to the van. As they drove towards the address, Shadowcat couldn't help but notice how Wolverine kept tapping on the steering wheel. "Like, nervous much?"

"No half-pint," the man responded, "I just hope Wanda can keep Laura distracted long enough so that we have a house to go back to."

* * *

"This is so boring!" Laura yelled as she threw herself backwards on the bed. Since Wanda didn't participate in any fieldwork her and Laura were using the opportunity to get a little ahead on their school work.

"Oh don't be so dramatic." The teen told her best friend. "This is easy, all you have to do is multiple, than divide the independent variable so it's by itself, then put the entire equation on one side of the equal sign." The girl would have gone on, had a pillow not hit her face. Despite sending Laura her best glare, the other girl wasn't affected.

"I see your lips moving, but all I'm hearing is 'blah blah blah". To emphasize her point, the clone held up one hand and brought her fingers and thumb together in a semblance of an opening and closing mouth.

Wanda just rolled her eyes before saying, "I swear the only time you pay attention is if it's for a prank or a fight."

Instantly Laura shot upright as she said, "Fight? Are you challenging me Wanda?"

"What, I would never…"

However she was once more cut off as Laura declared, "Too late, challenge accepted!" With a mock battle yell the girl launched herself at her friend, tackling her to the ground. As the friendly wrestling match began Wanda hopped it would be the most excitement she'd see for the night.

* * *

"I still don't think this is a good idea man." Toad said as he led Avalanche through the woods surrounding the X Mansion.

"Would you relax." Avalanche said as he walked through the woods. "The worst thing we found was those shock turrets, which I was able to take care of. Boss says everyone is out of town. We get in, upload the virus, and get out. Ease as pie."

"Fine," Toad relented, "but I still don't like this. Let's get moving, it's still a long walk, especially with your slow ass."

As Toad hopped away, Avalanche just shrugged his shoulders, it wasn't the worst thing he'd been called.

* * *

Anna Marie sat on Cody's bed with a scrap book, failing to sort out any memories. After reaching the last page, she calmly set the book down before walking over to the mirror. Staring at her reflection, she began speaking to herself, "Your name is Anna Marie. You're a freshmen. You're not normal, but you're okay." She would have continued the pep talk, if she didn't hear a car out front. Thinking that Cody's parents might be home, or some family was visiting, the teen quickly ran out the back before jumping the fence and into the ally.

Now feeling as though she was out of immediate danger, Anna Marie allowed herself a moment to catch her breath. Finally having time to think through everything, the teen decided to peak over the fence and see if anyone was following her. However, as she grasped the top of the fence and stepped onto some nearby trashcans her foot slipped and she fell to the ground, one of her gloves getting snagged on the fence.

* * *

Around the corner, Wolverine was leading Shadowcat and Nightcrawler down the ally when he suddenly stopped. Confused, the boy asked, "What is it? You smell something?"

"No," the Canadian said, "just heard something up ahead of his. Hang back until I give you the all clear." His orders given, Wolverine carefully began advancing only for Nightcrawler to grab his shoulder.

"Wait," the German teen began, "we're supposed to make this girl feel welcome, and you don't exactly scream friendly. Why not let me handle this one?"

At first Wolverine seemed like he'd immediately say no, but the more he thought about it the more sense the kid made. A lifetime of fighting didn't make the older mutant the best people person, and the blue skinned teen had spent most of his life making people feel comfortable in the circus. "Fine," Wolverine relented, "but why don't you change so you don't give the girl a heart attack?" With a quick nod, Nightcrawler turned on his image projector before teleporting away. Before the smoke cleared, Wolverine turned to Shadowcat and ordered, "Go make sure the elf doesn't get into any trouble." Although hesitant, the teen slowly walked down the ally, phasing through fences in search of her teammate.

Once left alone, the man pulled out his cell phone and called Wanda, it was time to makes sure his daughter was behaving.

* * *

"Yes Mr. Logan, everything is fine." Wanda replied as she picked up a bowl of chips. "We finished our homework and decided to watch a movie until you and the team came back." After a short pause, the young woman laughed and said, "Yes, I'll make sure it's one from the Professor's approved list. Okay, bye."

After putting her phone away, Wanda walked back into the movie room to find Laura sprawled out on most of the couch. "Finally," the other girl said as she grabbed the bowl of junk food, "I thought you were growing the potatoes with how long you took."

"Very funny." Wanda shot back as she sat in the remaining free space. "I still don't know about watching this."

"Oh live a little." Laura declared as she started the movie, one that certainly wasn't on the approved list. "If my dad really didn't want us watching _Crematorium 12: The Final Burn,_ then why would it be in his room?" As the girl opened her mouth to reply, Laura interrupted her as she pressed play, "Save it, and turn off the lights would ya?" Shaking her head, Wanda took the opportunity to practice, using her powers to flip the light switch on the other side of the room. Laura smiled at her friend as she said, "Congratulations, you didn't blow anything up this time," only for the TV and the rest of the mansion's lights to suddenly turn off, "except a fuse." Getting up and popping her back, Laura stated, "I'll take care of this, you just sit tight."

* * *

As Anna Marie ran through backyard after backyard, she passed by a swing set before hearing a familiar sound. Turning, she saw a boy she didn't recognize that she swore wasn't there before. As she opened her mouth to ask who he was, the blue haired teen said, " _Guten tag meine Schwester_."

Anna Marie looked at the teen for a moment, feeling like she recognized him from somewhere but could not place him. Eventually she asked, "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

"Oh I am hurt," Kurt exaggerated as he held his hands above his heart, "I may have grown some since the last time you and mother saw me, but I like to believe I'm unforgettable!"

Recognition came instantly to Anna Marie. Lightly slapping her adoptive brother on the shoulder with her still gloved hand, the teen said, "Kurt, quit being such a jerk before I tell ma!" Still, the two teens laughed in good fun, unaware that they were being watched. Shadowcat had finally caught up to Nightcrawler and had seen the slap, but was too far away to hear the conversation. Believing her friend in danger, the young mutant rushed forward to help, unfortunately she tripped. Falling forward, the teen didn't think to phase through Nightcrawler as she collided with him, pushing him into Anna Marie. As the three fell into a tangled pile of limbs, Anna Marie's uncovered hand landed on Nightcrawler's head. Instantly the girl felt a rush of memories as the boy fell unconscious.

Shadowcat immediately noticed the state of her teammate. Quickly sending a glare to the other girl, she yelled, "What did you do!" Frightened, Anna Marie unintentionally teleported all three teens over the fence and in front of Wolverine.

Seeing the current predicament, and quickly able to guess what had happened, the man took charge of the situation. "Halfpint, calm down. I'm sure whatever miss Rogue here did was an accident, don't you remember when your powers first showed up?" He then turned to Anna Marie and said, "As for you, calm down. We don't want anymore accidental teleportation now do we?" When the girl nodded and started calming down, Wolverine pulled out his phone to let the Professor know where they were at. Surprisingly the mission had gone better than expected, now he just hoped the mansion was still standing.

* * *

Deciding that it was better to cover more ground and split up, Avalanche now found himself wondering around the dark halls of the X-Mansion. Initially worried that the sudden black out was some form of a security measure, his fears were quickly laid to rest as nothing happened. Still that didn't solve his current predicament, being lost in enemy territory. While the teen kept wishing for some form of a hint on where to find the super computer, he heard someone else walking ahead of him before opening a metal door.

"Let's see, now which one of you is the busted one?" Avalanche heard Laura wonder aloud. Now Avalanche was even more afraid. Magneto had assured him and Toad they would be alone, what's worse is that Toad had warned the other Brotherhood member to never fight against the girl alone. Although the teen was confident his teammate only gave the warning due to being afraid of every one of the X-Men, he wasn't about to test that theory without any back up.

Slowly Avalanche began walking backwards, his feet barley making a noise on the carpet. Just when he was about to reach the end of the hall without incident, the mutant suddenly heard a metal door slam shut. "Alright, listen up," Laura began, "I know someone is there, so speak up before I start to have some fun." Now on the verge of absolute panic, Avalanche abandoned subtly and started running away, Laura calling after him, "Guess we do this the fun way."

After about five minutes of none stop running in the dark house, Avalanche leaned against a wall, confidant he'd lost his tail. The teen broke out in a cold sweat as he heard Laura called out, "I may not have night vision, but with how afraid you are it's easy to track you down." Utterly terrified, the mutant teen held his breath, hoping that his purser would pass him by. After waiting a few more minutes, which felt like an eternity, and not hearing anything, the Brotherhood member let out a sigh of relief, only to hear someone whisper boo behind him. Yelling in surprise, Avalanche try a right backhand, only for his fist to meet the drywall and to have his feet swept from beneath him.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" Laura taunted from the darkness. Now greatly angered, Avalanche unleashed his power, causing the ground to shake. Already he heard several ceramics crash against the floor, yet he kept going until he heard several loud thuds. Confident that he'd taken care of the problem, Avalanche turned and began his search for Toad so they could hurry and get done. He was unprepared as he heard a voice behind him ask, "Is that really all you got? You should at least make sure you've actually hit me." As the teen turned around, the mansion's lights suddenly flickered on. Laura stared upward as more lights lit up. "It appears all your shaking managed to jostle the fuses back into the right place to get the power back on." She then turned her emotionless gaze back to her opponent as she asked, "Now what to do with you? Dad and the Professor say I can't fully use my powers when fighting," she paused as she let the claws of her left hand slowly pop out, "but then again, they're not here to stop me, and this is the second time you Brotherhood idiots have broken into my house. If you can't guess, I'm a little angry about that."

The air between the two teens was silent for a moment before Avalanche turned on his heel and ran away, not even bothering to hide his screams of terror. Laura smirked as she slowly stalked forward.

* * *

Toad had been jumping around the mansion since separating from Avalanche. Although he'd paused slightly when the lights turned off and then came back on, he was mostly unconcerned. He had searched room after room of the seemingly deserted house, so far finding nothing. Finally he'd chanced upon a rather large and luxurious bedroom on the ground floor. While all the bedrooms were large, this one also had a supercomputer that the teen could not even begin to make sense of, even after all his shop classes. The teen was about to walk into the room and upload the virus Magneto had given him, when he heard someone walking towards him.

"Laura, is that you? Why are you going into the Professor's room?" Wanda asked before seeing the individual was not her friend. Instantly the girl turned to run away, only for Toad to jump over the girl and block her path.

"Where are you going sweet thing?" Toad asked as he hopped a bit closer, causing Wanda to take a step back.

"Laura, help!" Wanda yelled for her friend, believing she'd cause too much damage if she used her powers to defend herself.

"Sorry honey," Toad began, "but it looks like it's just you and me here now. If you did have some company I'm sure Avalanche is keeping them busy." The teen then moved to attack, rearing back to launch his tongue forward.

Wanda saw the attack coming and reacted. Creating the smallest hex bolt she possibly could, she launched it at the appendage. Although the hex bolt shocked Toad slightly, the true damage came a second later as the hex bolt had knocked his tongue off course and towards an electrical outlet. As the tongue was traveling at such a velocity, the outlet was actually knocked into the wall and Toad's tongue hit an exposed wire.

After the shocking development, Toad quickly collected himself and was about to launch another attack at Wanda, only for a frightened Avalanche to collide with him. As the two Brotherhood members collected themselves, Avalanche grabbed Toad and began dragging him away, yelling, "We've got to get out of here man, these chicks are crazy!" Toad hazard a glance backwards, spotting Laura stalking forward, all her claws now extended. Needless to say the two teens quickly barreled out the front door. Magneto wouldn't be happy that they failed their mission yet again, but at least the night wasn't a total failure. This time Toad remembered the layout of the mansion, furthermore he knew where the supercomputer was kept.

As she watched the Brotherhood members retreat, Laura was still steaming. "Can you believe those idiots, as if we'd ever leave this place unguarded!"

"Yes I know," Wanda agreed as she passed her friend a broom and dustpan before beginning to clean up the mess herself, "but I'm sure they'll learn eventually. In the mean time we should clean up as much as we can before the rest of the team gets here."

"Do we have to?" Laura whined. She enjoyed making messes, not cleaning them up.

"The sooner we clean up the sooner we can get back to the movie," Wanda reasoned before shooting the other teen a questioning look, "or do you not want to watch _Crematorium_?" That comment got Laura cleaning. Between the two teens they were able to clean up the broken ceramics, replace them from the Professor's supply closet (the man had learned many years ago it payed to have spares of everything), and watch the movie, with both laughing at how outlandish some of the special effects were, before the rest of the team returned for the night. After a quick introduction with Anna Marie, who decided to take the codename Rogue, the pair shared their tale of their time alone. Although Professor X expressed his concern about the security breach, he praised the girls for handling the situation on their own, however that didn't stop Logan from grounding both Laura and Wanda when found out they'd snuck into his room and had taken one of the restricted movies.

Unsurprisingly, after such an eventful Friday night the rest of the weekend pasted without note. The following Monday was a different story.

* * *

Anna Marie waited patiently in the uncomfortable seat beside the principal's office. She'd already had several conversations with Kurt the past weekend about what to expect, but she still felt unprepared. She knew that Principal Darkhölme was just another alias for her adopted mother, but she still felt nervous. There were a multitude of things that could go wrong. She knew that her mother's friendship with Aunt Irene had grown cold over the past few years, so what if her previous caretaker didn't approve the transfer? What if her mother was disappointed that it took this long for her mutation to fully activate? What if she was disappointed in her lack of control?

These thoughts swirled in the girl's head before she heard someone clearing her throat. Looking up, Anna Marie found Principal Darkhölme tapping her foot impatiently. "Today, please?" The girl only nodded as she meekly followed the principal into her office, closing the door behind her.

Taking a seat in front of the large desk, Anna Marie listened as Principal Darkhölme explained the schedule, the lunch menu, and the student handbook. Feeling that the conversation was finished, the teen moved to stand up, only for the principal to say her name in a warmer tone. Focusing on the woman's face, the girl was surprised to see a warm smile and pure yellow eyes.

" _It really is good to have you here dear."_ Raven said in German, a language Anna Marie had picked up after the unintentional dogpile with her adoptive brother.

" _It's good to be with the rest of my family_." Anna Marie replied with her own smile before asking, " _Where's Kurt? He told me that he would be my guide today."_

Switching her focus back to some paperwork, Raven simply said, " _He told me that he would be in the library, he said you knew the way._ " As she finished speaking, the yellow of the woman's eyes had disappeared. Now knowing the conversation was over, Anna Marie thanked Principal Darkhölme for allowing her into the school and left the office.

After a five minute walk, the teen arrived at the library, a quick search revealing her brother sitting at one of the tables in the back, a multitude of past year books stacked beside him. Sneakily approaching her brother, the teen pinched Kurt's shoulder with a gloved hand before asking, "Enjoying your free period?"

Although annoyed at the prank, the teleported didn't show it as he said, "Just doing a bit of research."

"Research on what?" his sister asked as she picked a yearbook at random and opening it. She was further shocked to see a picture of that year's chess club. Although no one was named in the picture, she easily recognized the younger Professor X, his enemy, and her mother. The rest were meaningless faces, although the tall, muscular teen in the Lettermen Jacket stuck out to her for some reason.

Kurt however, didn't notice his sister's reaction as he responded in German, " _Mother never really talks about Father, just that they were in love and happy before she messed up and that they met in High School."_

After taking a picture of the chess club photo with her phone to further look into later, Anna Marie started looking at some of the other pictures as she responded, " _So you're hoping to find some information about your dad, for what? Ma always says it's not good to wonder aimlessly."_

" _I just want some answers,"_ Kurt confessed. Looking directly into his sister's eyes, he explained, " _I've all my life wondering if I was wanted, if my father even knows of my existence._ " Gesturing to the stack of yearbooks, Kurt continued, " _I found the Professor's picture in one of these by accident, then I found mom's. It could take a little digging, but maybe I can figure out who my father is, and what went wrong."_

" _Don't worry, we'll figure this out._ " Anna Marie assured her brother. When Kurt raised an eyebrow at her wording, she clarified, " _Even if not by blood, you're my brother. If this is important to you, than its important to me. Although I don't like going behind Ma's back like this, we'll find out who your pa is._ "

Kurt could only smile as he wiped away a stray tear. "Thanks Rogue," he said as he gathered up the yearbooks, "with your help, I know we'll succeed. But for now, we've got to get to class."

* * *

 **This turned out to be a decent update with 11 and a half pages.**

 **Again, I'm sorry the wait for this update took so long. Between juggling Grad School, playing a very limited number of video games, and working on several other updates I had a very limited amount of free time. I try to limit the length between updates, but life always has other plans (I've actually got about three half done updates that have been sitting on my stick for the past few months that I really should finish while I have the time). I'll try to update again soon, but I'd like to make some headway on my other stories as well.**

 **Well Rogue was able to join the X-Men without too much difficulty this time around, now I just need to decide if she'll start going by Rogue or stick with Anna Marie (really the only reason for the switch would be because it eventually gets annoying typing her name as such), but that's a question for another day. Today's question include…**

 **Will the Brotherhood ever complete a successful mission?**

 **What will I do to replace the episode where Rogue changes sides (I have something special planned that I hope everyone will enjoy)?**

 **How will Kurt react to learning who his dad is (come on, we all know it will happen eventually)?**

 **All these questions and more will be answered in future chapters of** _ **One Small Change**_ **!**

 **Until then, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."**


End file.
